Only just found this thread ,rather ironically while l wait to hear from a good friends family in the USA , after he just passed at 77 living a full life that most could only dream of,.A Veteran from a UDT background & becoming one of the first SEALs ever into Combat. Even after having a Russian Satchel Charge land next to him in Vietnam,with the only thing saving him was a small pile of rubbish from the NVC camp they were infiltrating,but the down side was it made for ,DIY shrapnel . As the guys who treated him on the ground said ,he was the worst casualty bleed they had seen & had that many bleeding wounds, his state as relayed to the Dust Off crew in bound, was described as a Pin Cushion ,a nick name that stuck with him for his 30yrs hard charging service.
All the guys on the ground did not expect him to live that day & yet with all the broken bones,torn flesh & internal bleeding he was still actively involved in conflicts around the world,lead & trained some of the most elite fighting forces in the world & fit & active until till recent times some 50 years later
During his life among a lot of other things ,being among the first to ever deploy at "Mission Depth", while on a active mission from a Nuclear Submarine,deploy on a mission from a Submarines Torpedo Tubes at maximum depth,for concealment ,causing a ear drum to blow & becoming disorientated, all while being hunted by a enemy force.Helped develop the parachute & diving rig & completed the jump to become among the first to parachute with a Atomic Bomb strapped to them .His wounds & growing age never stopped him from living life to the full & after he "left" the military become a successful business man .
I will be 60 at the end of the year & was very fortunate to become friends through Guiding with a lot of the original SEALs & Macv/SOG of Vietnam war era & we traveled the world for 26 years Hunting/fishing/Sky Diving & motor bike riding .Their commitment to staying fit & active even with severe injuries & amputations meant they out performed many much younger clients in the field & were great inspiration for me to keep fit & continue my involvement in Sky Diving,Martial Arts & Scuba Diving .I stopped competing in Martial Arts & Sky Diving at 55.Still love all out door pursuits ,becoming more interested in Rafting as means to explore & hunt & fish remote areas ie launch from point up stream & then get picked up at some remote point down stream by chopper after living off the land,with only what you can carry .
Very lucky to have a group of mates who for 14 years (until Chyna Flu)have done multiple extended group Hunting /Fishing/Diving trips ie Latte Land for Sika,private fly in blocks & diving/fishing ,Gods country for Stewart Island ,Fiordland etc & bird hunting .A few of the guys are turning into grumpy old men with lots of excuses of late ,so no doubt may have some pull out,but some do have a decade on me,so we cut them a bit of slack just don't tell them:P .
@hamsav I know the feeling with the rattling when you walk & setting off airport alarms ,l raced bikes off road for nearly 30 years & completed the Finke Desert Race twice, got clipped & busted left collar bone ,forearm,wrist & every bone in my hand except my little finger & then 5 years later dusted my left wrist again & right collar bone & ribs ,so it is held together with more metal than bone now,but thankfully gives no problems unless l really push it rock climbing/abseiling.I was lucky & when l was young & dumb,l took up shearing after leaving school & seeing how the guys suffered with bad backs have always taken care to work on core strength through swimming etc & kept fit & l think that has paid off in later life as l do not have real aches & pains & knees etc are all good.
Funny you mention those beautiful Moto Guzzi 850t ,in 02 me & a mate rode across the Simpson Desert in Oz ,on a couple of KTM 690's & up the infamous Big Red sand dune, out of Birdsville QLD & we were fucking knackered ,as we put in a big 5 days(too big) & it took 6 attempts to get up the dune .Who rides up from the civilization side but a "Old Bloke" (to us then) on a Moto Guzzi 850t he had just turned 62 & had rebuilt himself & was doing a lap of Oz on it. l also have a shed full of bikes in various stages of swearing at ,a Harley Road Glide, a KTM690& Yammy WR450 all set up for long range expeditions as we have done Oz & SE Asia adventure rides .
@grandpamac I was going to message you to see how you were going before we left for our Roar hunts ,great to hear the fitness program is working out ,very proud you have stuck at it & done so well signs of a Good Keen Man.Those boots Sarvo has a very good for the $$ very comfortable & l often wear mine around the farm they are that good on the feet :thumbsup:
When ever you are feeling old & worn out & wonder if you have done enough in life remember there are men like Capt Ron who knew what living life to the full was all about & many more like him ,these guys have pushed me to keep testing the limits through 3 Decades of True Friendship .
To show you what sort of guys they are back in 2014-15 my wife & l were ticking off a Bucket list item of Sailing around the South Pacific.we did it in a old yacht l brought cheap after the financial melt down in Singapore & restored it while it sat at anchor in Singapore harbor,l get a phone call out of the blue asking would l join & help a couple of the Nam era SEALs Captain "Pete" Peterson & Captain Rick Woolard, with a group of others & give them a hand for a few days,so l got a 7 day leave pass from the missus & she flew down to visit our daughter in oz ,l grabbed a cheap flight & ended up being part of this .
Although thankfully l am only briefly shown in the background a couple of times,l carried my ratty old stoney creek pack. loaded up with cartons of cigarettes with packet wrappers like they had in the 60-70's ,to be dispensed at will to authorities blocking our access & gifts ,l became known as Smoko to the locals much to the others amusement .
if you have not seen this documentary l highly recommend it ,this also shows what great people these guys are,who even after having seen & done unimaginable horrors they are loyal, great men with hearts of gold .Have you ever seen or heard about the documentary" A Bond Unbroken- The Why Of Minh- "about the Vietnam War era SEALs & Brown Water Navy guys on a mission to find their Vietnamese combat interpreter,who was lost during the confusion of the evacuation & never heard of for decades after the Vietnam war had ended ?
-A write up on it -
"A reunion 40 years in the making. After decades of wondering what became of their combat interpreter, a group of U.S. Navy SEALs attempts to find Nguyen Hoang Minh, left behind in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. When they discover him living in abject poverty, the bond they forged during the conflict is so strong that the entire SEAL community takes up funds to ensure that Minh has financial security for the rest of his life. The film documents the circumstances that created that bond, the reunion, and the impact on the Vietnamese-American community"
Capt Ron & a lot of the guys l have been talking about are in this as well & it shows how even in their later years they maintained activity & fitness it also has some really good home movie style combat footage of SEALs ,Brown Water Navy & Seawolves -
" A Bond Unbroken- The Why Of Minh- "
https://vimeo.com/185166669
