Kyle Carpenter

[1 Wild R/T]

Don't know if anyone is familiar with Kyle, he's the youngest living Medal Of Honor recipient & he started a You Tube channel awhile back...

Great kid who's been through hell...

I've been watching his video's, really good stuff... If your inclined to check him out I'm attaching a link to one of his videos, from there you can find lots more, you could even subscribe.. Don't know much about getting paid on Youtube but I hear getting more subscribers helps.... Anyway...

 

[70chall440]

I have had the distinct honor of meeting and talking to 3 MOH awardees during my time in the service; Bob Howard, Roy Benavidez, and Jon Cavaiani (all VN Special Forces soldiers). They were all amazing individuals with stories that defy logic as almost every MOH awardee does. I sincerely believe that every child who attends school should be taught about the amazing actions and sacrifices these great Americans endured on the behalf of this nation. I also believe that if this was taught, more kids would have a completely different view of the world than they do; to realize that people have willingly made sometimes the fatal decision to take an action to save/support their fellow service members. It would convey the message that life is bigger than the individual and there are things more important than yourself.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I have had the distinct honor of meeting and talking to 3 MOH awardees during my time in the service; Bob Howard, Roy Benavidez, and Jon Cavaiani (all VN Special Forces soldiers). They were all amazing individuals with stories that defy logic as almost every MOH awardee does. I sincerely believe that every child who attends school should be taught about the amazing actions and sacrifices these great Americans endured on the behalf of this nation. I also believe that if this was taught, more kids would have a completely different view of the world than they do; to realize that people have willingly made sometimes the fatal decision to take an action to save/support their fellow service members. It would convey the message that life is bigger than the individual and there are things more important than yourself.

I 100% Agree....

 

[steve from staten island]

Ive heard of this happening in some schools
https://www.history.com/teacher-resources

 

[70chall440]

Needs to be a lot more of that, the problem I see however is that there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of people out claiming to be vets or claiming some high speed low drag back ground (read SEAL, Special Forces, CIA, etc.) when in fact they were truck drivers who did one enlistment or worse got booted out. I spent 26 years in, over half in Special Forces and I have personally outed a great number of impostors who knew my background yet still bold faced lied to me fully knowing I could easily discredit them (and I did). I have no time for that crap and while some might think it is petty, I will go out of my way to confront someone (and have).

 

[Moparnocar]

I have had the distinct honor of meeting and talking to 3 MOH awardees during my time in the service; Bob Howard, Roy Benavidez, and Jon Cavaiani (all VN Special Forces soldiers). They were all amazing individuals with stories that defy logic as almost every MOH awardee does. I sincerely believe that every child who attends school should be taught about the amazing actions and sacrifices these great Americans endured on the behalf of this nation. I also believe that if this was taught, more kids would have a completely different view of the world than they do; to realize that people have willingly made sometimes the fatal decision to take an action to save/support their fellow service members. It would convey the message that life is bigger than the individual and there are things more important than yourself.

Wow you met Benavidez???? I wouldn't know what to say... I can't imagine anything I could do that's tougher than what he did

 

[70chall440]

He was a very soft spoken guy. I met him at Ft Bragg, he was there doing a signing and I essentially ran into him. At the time I really didn't know much about him, then I read his citation and was blown away. I will say this, when I asked about the event that earned them the MOH, every guys essentially said exactly the same thing "not the smartest thing I ever did".. I was lucky and got to spend quite a lot of time talking to Bob Howard; he was a warrior through and through till the day he died. In fact, the night before he died, he spoke at a ROTC event at the University of WA where my son was enrolled. My son called me to tell me about the Special Forces MOH guy who was to speak there. Just prior to him speaking he was doubled over with pain (sever cancer), but he refused to not go on, he went on and spoke for an hour straight, answered questions, etc. They flew him back to AL that night and he died the next day. One hell of a man to be sure.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

He was a very soft spoken guy. I met him at Ft Bragg, he was there doing a signing and I essentially ran into him. At the time I really didn't know much about him, then I read his citation and was blown away. I will say this, when I asked about the event that earned them the MOH, every guys essentially said exactly the same thing "not the smartest thing I ever did".. I was lucky and got to spend quite a lot of time talking to Bob Howard; he was a warrior through and through till the day he died. In fact, the night before he died, he spoke at a ROTC event at the University of WA where my son was enrolled. My son called me to tell me about the Special Forces MOH guy who was to speak there. Just prior to him speaking he was doubled over with pain (sever cancer), but he refused to not go on, he went on and spoke for an hour straight, answered questions, etc. They flew him back to AL that night and he died the next day. One hell of a man to be sure.

All three men were warriors, amazing that they all survived.. Many guys died from lesser wounds... These guys all put other mens lives above their own without hesitation.... Simply put, heroes of the highest caliber...

 

[steve from staten island]

Needs to be a lot more of that, the problem I see however is that there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of people out claiming to be vets or claiming some high speed low drag back ground (read SEAL, Special Forces, CIA, etc.) when in fact they were truck drivers who did one enlistment or worse got booted out. I spent 26 years in, over half in Special Forces and I have personally outed a great number of impostors who knew my background yet still bold faced lied to me fully knowing I could easily discredit them (and I did). I have no time for that crap and while some might think it is petty, I will go out of my way to confront someone (and have).

I don't understand how anyone could present themselves to be something they are not. Id guess its some sort of mental issue. Ive had the honor of serving and have some family with some vets who were combat vets and one was a POW. Mostly they never said much or anything at all, I have the utmost respect and admiration for them.
Wow is all I can say about meeting these true heroes. Great thread

 

[Skytrooper]

There are a lot of posers out there ! 70chall440 hit the nail on the head. Many of them had less excitement during their service days than others. Maybe they need to feel the need to appear more impressive to others. I don't know.
I have an old schoolmate who has made ridiculous claims to fame on fb. He contradicts himself a lot. I actually think he believes himself. It is evident that his mind is slipping. I find it very irritating, but since he is wracked with cancer, whats the point of outing him now.

 

[steve from staten island]

There are a lot of posers out there ! 70chall440 hit the nail on the head. Many of them had less excitement during their service days than others. Maybe they need to feel the need to appear more impressive to others. I don't know.
I have an old schoolmate who has made ridiculous claims to fame on fb. He contradicts himself a lot. I actually think he believes himself. It is evident that his mind is slipping. I find it very irritating, but since he is wracked with cancer, whats the point of outing him now.

Agreed. I knew more than a few guys who overstated their service or flat out lied.
I don't get it and never will.
Every combat vet I ever met while I served in the NYSANG and beyond never played up what they experienced. God Bless them all.
I served 6 years in the Guard, I was a turrent mechanic and often I just drove duece and a halfs, and the five tons as we called them. Other times I drove officers, helped out others, armorer, radio , KP. Some people called me a weekend warrior and my usual reply was were did you serve ? Of course these who made fun of me never served a day in their lives.
The thing is I did a very very little something and I really never even thought of myself as a vet and still don't

 

[Skytrooper]

I especially dislike stopping at the VFW and having people ask me what I did. Others tell their stories, and it's like the "one-upsmanship" starts at that point. I don't, and never have told any of them. VFW National says I qualified, and I have my Life card. That is all that matters. I don't even go to the VFW anymore as it had nothing to do with camaraderie and more about chest beating.

My apologies to the OP for wandering off topic

 

[1 Wild R/T]

My apologies to the OP for wandering off topic

No worries, threads go where threads go.... I spent two years at the Coronado Amphib base where practically every command is Special Forces.... With one exception.. The command I was stationed at...... Which is ACB-1 a Sea Bee command... I met & was friends with plenty of Seals, one of my good friends was a Seal instructor who was killed a few years ago in Iraq... Those guys earn the respect, I don't understand why it's so common for guys to portray themselves as something they aren't...

 

[70chall440]

As I would tell our support guys (and girls); not everyone who joins needs to be or is cut out to be a Green Beret (or SEAL, or whatever). Be the best at whatever you signed up to be because we need good people to do those jobs as well. I didn't want to be an admin clerk, but whenever I met a good one they were gold. We had the advantage of being able to keep or get rid of support personnel who didn't fit in, and we tried very hard to keep the good ones.

If you served in the military in any capacity or organization (to include the Coast Guard) and left honorably; YOU ARE A VET!!!