07:26 - Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2006
My Brother
Today, is April 12. It would have been My Brothers 56th Birthday.
He died during the tet offensive in 1968. if ya dont know what the tet offensive was or are too young to remember, heres the facts:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tet Offensive
Part of Second Indochina War/Vietnam War
Date: January 30, 1968 - June 8, 1969
Location: North Vietnam
South Vietnam
Result: Decisive ARVN, American and allied forces military victory but an equally disastrous political setback for the United States
Combatants
South Vietnam
United States
New Zealand
Australia North Vietnam
National Liberation Front
Commanders
William Westmoreland Central committees of the NLF and DRVN
Strength
50,000+ (estimate) 85,000+ (estimate)
Casualties
USA/AUS/SKOR: 1,536 dead, 7,764 wounded, 11 missing
ARVN: 2,788 dead, 8,299 wounded, 587 missing
Total: 4,324 dead, 16,063 wounded, 598 missing
Total Casualties: 20985 25,000-45,000 dead
30,000-50,000 wounded
6,000 captured
Total Casualties: ~60,000-100,000
The Tet Offensive (January 30, 1968 - June 8, 1969) was a series of operational offensives during the Vietnam War, coordinated between battalion strength elements of the National Liberation Front's People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF) or "Viet Cong" and divisional strength elements of the North Vietnam's People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), against South Vietnam's Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), and United States military and other ARVN-allied forces. The operations are called the Tet Offensive as they were timed to begin on the night of January 30�31, 1968, Tet Nguy�n ��n (the lunar new year day). The offensive began spectacularly during celebrations of the Lunar New Year, and sporadic operations associated with the offensive continuing into 1969.
The Tet Offensive resulted in a crushing operational defeat for the North Vietnamese, crippling the PLAF. The Tet Offensive is widely seen, though perhaps incorrectly, as a turning point of the war in Vietnam, in which the NLF and PAVN won an enormous psychological and propaganda victory leading to the loss of popular support for the War in the United States and the eventual withdrawal of American troops. Neither the NLF nor PAVN achieved any of their strategic goals, and the operational cost of the offensive was dangerously high. Additionally, while US public opinion polls continued to support American involvement in the war, the US public was increasingly critical of Lyndon Johnson's particular war policies. Perhaps the group most affected by the offensive was the Nguyen V�n Thieu government in the Republic of Vietnam, whose military and political reliance on the United States was demonstrated to the majority of the Republic's population. The Tet Offensive is frequently seen as an example of the value of propaganda and media influence in the pursuit of military objectives.
Edward Caldwell, Lieutenant, United States Air Force. April 12, 1950 - December 18, 1968
