BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam

Subject: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 10:46 AM

See here

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: GUEST,Teribus
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 10:52 AM

Thanks for the link Guest, great story and what an achievement, must give them both a great deal of satisfaction and fulfillment. Good luck to them.

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Peace
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 12:06 PM

Neat story, GUEST. Thanks for posting it.

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 12:10 PM

And that's one Vietnam story about which we can all feel pleased. Thanks for posting it. (Even if you are an unnamed GUEST who surely can't want to be confused with some of the others...)

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Rapparee
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 12:21 PM

A wonderful story, but one of many. Vietnam veterans have helped the Vietnamese in many ways since the war: with schools, with
hospitals, and other things. 'Tis a pity that the news don't carry more stories on the good that is done and less on "drugged-out, kill-crazy Vietnam veterans."

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Gareth
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 12:53 PM

Superb.

Gareth

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 02:11 PM

Tis not about WHO posteth but what - Yes Rapaire - lots of good has been done. More good than not. Thanks for the additional links -

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Bobert
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 02:20 PM

Well, donged nai, that's what I say. An' a nifty little sailboat, to boot... Even better story!...

Thanksm GUEST.

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: DougR
Date: 17 Dec 03 - 02:24 PM

Super!

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Hrothgar
Date: 18 Dec 03 - 03:41 AM

More power to their elbows!

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Leadfingers
Date: 18 Dec 03 - 05:43 AM

I will go against my normal thing about ignoring anonymous Guests in this instance to say 'Thanks for the story'And why stay Anonymous ?? I am sure you would not be out of place in here.

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Dec 03 - 12:28 PM

Don't think so Leadfingers - I support the war in Iraq - I come for a song now and then and occasionally run into something that crosses all boundaries of political persuasion. When I do I share it -

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Peace
Date: 18 Dec 03 - 11:29 PM

GUEST: Your statement that you support the war in Iraq is no reason not to post here. I do also given that the USA and its allies were going to oust Saddam Hussein and find WMDs. I don't care who knows it. However, you have that choice and that's that. All the best.

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: mg
Date: 19 Dec 03 - 05:15 PM

not totally relevant but I have a new song about the oystermen who were all drafted from Willapa Bay beds...it assumes they became riverrats..if anyone wants it (who is polite) email me at [e-mail] mg

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Big Mick
Date: 19 Dec 03 - 10:13 PM

Old comrade, your posts and views are well known and respected. Not sure why you decided to go anon, but that is your business. Great article, and just don't quit posting.

Best regards and drop a line once in a while,

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 01:53 PM

Thanks Mick - the best back at you Brother -

Thanks Mary - Now to figure out the music -

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: open mike
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 03:21 PM

actually the link does not work for me,
and i search the duck magazine site for
marine and viet nam and nothing comes up.
can any one post a blickie that goes to
the right place?

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 04:01 PM

Yes, that link our friendly GUEST gave doesn't work any more.

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: mg
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 04:49 PM

think of pussycat pussycat where have you been....

Isort of havea tune in my head now..

mg

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 05:47 PM

Thanks Mary - got it -

And the link is not accessable anymore - Sorry to those who were not able to see it. I should have coppied it - but my last memories were that copying was not encouraged. I'll ask the Marine who gave it to me if he has it - if so I'll come back and put it in.

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: Rapparee
Date: 22 Dec 03 - 06:55 PM

Guest, I think that anyone who has thoughtful reasons for supporting the war in Iraq is welcome. While I have my doubts about it, I would rather discuss it in a reasoned manner than in the way it all too often is discussed, both here and outside the catbox.

Even with my doubts about the reasons for the war, my support of the troops is complete. Like Lincoln in an earlier war, I might disagree with the war but think that those doing the fighting should have the best of everything possible.

Whether or not you chose to remember anonymous is up to you. But please keep posting.

Subject: RE: BS: What one Marine has done since Viet Nam
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Dec 03 - 08:52 AM

THE HISTORY OF THE DONG NAI
by Hoot Gibson

The sturdy, fast and elegant Dong Nai class gaff-rigged sloop was conceived in the Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam and perfected along the war-torn coast of Nicaragua. Developed for use by Third World subsistence fishermen, this hybrid of Asian and Western nautical design is now being built, sailed and raced on the Chesapeake Bay.


Dong Nai-class vessels in action in Nicaragua --
the craft to starboard is powered by Diesel, rather than the regulation gaff rig. (No picture - my apologies)

Bob Means, a Southern California native, is a lifelong, avid sailor. Bob also has an avid interest in helping others. After combat service in Vietnam as a United States Marine in 1967 and 1968, Bob traveled to Central America under the auspices of his church to build medical facilities and housing. There, he met Juliet, a British nurse who became his wife.

Bob and Juliet formed "Vets With a Mission," dedicated to helping the Vietnamese rebuild their country. Juliet and Bob moved to a houseboat on the Dong Nai River in the Mekong Delta in southern Viet Nam and, with other returned vets, worked with the Vietnamese at building hospitals, homes and better lives for those suffering the aftereffects of the bitter, destructive war.

Bob noticed that the local fishermen were severely limited by their equipment -- sampan-style boats propelled bicycle-style by pedals attached to paddles. Faster boats, able to cover larger areas of water, would dramatically improve the lot of the local fishermen, Bob felt. Working with a local sampan craftsman, and using an illustration from the cover of the British magazine Classic Boat as a guide to the sails and rigging, Means went to work. After much trial and error, the Dong Nai prototype was launched.

Much to the surprise of the locals, this first effort -- christened Gecko -- performed beyond anyone's wildest expectations. It headed up to wind smartly and held steady at all points of sail. It was also extremely fast, easy and cheap to build and operate.

Bob and Juliet left Vietnam to return to Nicaragua to help rebuild after the Sandinista/Contra struggle. Bob saw that Nicaraguan fishermen, like their counterparts in Vietnam, were in need of cheap, reliable boats. Bob launched the Dong Nai Fishing Boat Project in Nicaragua and, with the help of aid funds from many nations, outfitted local fishermen with his design, enabling them to increase their range and productivity.

Bob and Juliet have since relocated to the hamlet of Remlik, Virginia, near Urbanna, on the Rappahannock river. There, at the Remlik Marina, Bob builds and teaches others to build and sail the Dong Nai. The design is proving to be as attractive to recreational sailors as it is to the subsistence fishermen of Viet Nam and Nicaragua.