Announcing: DJ Sue's Online Vault

Six years ago, I opened an account with SoundCloud.com (https://soundcloud.com/dj-sue), which is a place many DJ’s and artists share their musical and other audio projects, shows, sets, etc.  I had begun making remixes of songs and by uploading them to my page on the site; I could also embed them into my blog page at http://smowadeng.blogspot.com.  I never really used it for more than that, just an online place to park remixes so I could link to them.

In May of 2013, I did a remix of a Doors song in memory of Ray Manzarek who had just passed away.  I was planning to link it in my blog post, paying tribute to his memory.  I woke up the morning after posting it to an email that informed me that my remix had been removed from the site as it violated copyright law.  I guess that scared me a bit and I never really did anything with SoundCloud since then.

I have on occasion gotten requests from AWT DJ’s for a copy of one of my remixes.  I have never minded sharing these as long as they aren’t altered and the ID3 tags remain intact.  (ID3 tags are the part of the file that contains the song title, artist, album art, etc.)  Destiny has, I believe, almost my entire collection and plays them often for which I’m extremely flattered.  Recently, I mixed a piece that was a tribute to the 60’s but it was for a Rave Party.  I knew Des would eventually want it but I realized that I could never email it to her.  At over 22 minutes, the file is just too large but I thought for a minute.  If I uploaded it to SoundCloud, I could make the file downloadable and Destiny could get it that way.

I uploaded it in anticipation of the request for it that would eventually come from Destiny.  I was looking around and one thing led to another.  I uploaded many of my more recent pieces, since the most recent ones were put there about five years ago.  I uploaded a more recent picture of myself, a bio, link to my blog and added a banner.  I have relaunched it as DJ Sue’sOnline Vault.  I invite you to explore, listen to my mixes and mashups, leave comments, like songs and even create playlists.

I’ve only uploaded what I feel are the best examples of my work.  After my recent batch of uploads, I got another email…

“Hi DJ Sue,

It looks like your track

"Rock and Roll Part 3 (DJ Sue Mashup Mix)"

might contain or be a copy of "Rock 'n' Roll (Part 2)" by Gary Glitter, which is owned by Snapper Music in certain territories.

As a result, your track has been removed…  Blah, Blah, Blah.”

I get it.

The track takes Rock and Roll (Part 2) by Gary Glitter, which is an old ‘70s instrumental that was popular at sporting events (sometimes popularly referred to as the “Yelling Song”) and put the vocals of 3 by Britney Spears over top the music.  For my more recent remixes and mashes, I have created cover art and the cover art for this one was a mash itself.  (See image above.)  I took the cover from the Britney Spears single, shown below on the left, and combined it with the album cover of the Gary Glitter record, shown below on the right.  Unfortunately, you won’t find this one on my SoundCloud page.

I have not turned on the ability to download any of the files on my Online Vault because I really don’t want to attract anymore negative attention or have more files banned.  However, I am probably going to have the occasional “Open Vault Set” in the future.  On those occasions, during my set, I will have the download feature turned on for every one of my mixes as I stream music at AWT.  After my set, I will turn that feature back off.

Oh, and I can still embed the mixes as I’ve done below.  Here are the more recent ones I uploaded.

 
 
 
 

Sue's Sunday Sojourn: Cinema '76

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a great love of history.  This Sunday’s sojourn is going to visit some of my early days as a student of history.  I think my love of history, especially of the American Revolution was nurtured by one particular record album and I want to share it with you as our Fourth of July Independence Day approaches.

Through the years I’ve seen this record written about from time to time in places like blogs or journals and something interesting emerges.  Some writers have called it one of the rarest albums in existence, yet others counter that it is not rare at all.  On the one hand, some consider it rare because so few copies have survived and others say if you could readily get it on eBay then it can’t be rare.  Both statements are true and it is an album with so few copies in existence but is not really sought after by collectors.

The reason for this is simple.  The album was a souvenir from one of the pavilions of the 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair.  Most copies were probably brought home, not well cared for, given to the kids to play with and then eventually found their way to the trash.  My copy has survived and is quite playable because even as a kid, I found records precious and took care of them.

An aerial view of the Continental Insurance Pavilion featuring Cinema '76 at the New York's World Fair in 1965

I played this record often as a kid.  On it were the stories of the heroes of the American Revolution.  Their stories were moving, heroic and invoked a patriotism and love in me that I’m sure added to my love of things historical.  I would play it off and on through the year, but it would become a permanent fixture on the turntable during the Fourth of July season.

I finally got to study the American Revolution in high school and I was shocked to find that my history book, and my teacher for that matter, was not including the greats like Timothy Murphy, Deborah Sampson, Allan McLane or John Glover.  How could they omit them?  I’m going to give you a brief overview of each of these heroes that are presented on this album.  Their contributions to our independence are astounding and I hope I inspire you to join us on July 2 to come and hear this rare delight.

Side 1

1. The Continental Soldier: The album opens with a song honoring the typical soldier in Washington’s army.  He faced all sorts of hardships but persevered to overcome the British Army, considered the greatest in the world at the time..

2. Timothy Murphy: Before I explain the significance of Murphy, I need to explain something about the firearms and warfare of the day.  The muskets lacked any accuracy at all and as armies would line up across the field from each and fire, they were lucky to hit anything.  You could aim your gun straight across the field at a particular soldier and possibly hit the soldier standing twelve or fourteen places down the line.  The invention of the rifled barrel changed all of this.  This barrel had twisted groves cut into its interior that would bite into the bullet and put a spin on it much like a quarterback throwing a spiral pass.  This created a small gyroscope flying through the air that would travel straight.  It was now possible to aim for a target at a distance and hit it.

The rifle was so new that it was practically unheard of during the Revolution.  One of the few known cases was the weapon carried by Timothy Murphy of the 12^th Pennsylvania Regiment.  He not only had a rifle, it had two barrels allowing him two shots without reloading.  Soon his skill became well known and it was said that Murphy could hit a 7” (18 cm) target at 250 yards (229 meters), an impossibility in most military men’s minds of the day.  His most famous feat came at the Second Battle of Saratoga on 7 October 1777 when he was ordered to take out British General Simon Fraser.  Tim climbed a tree and shot Fraser, killing him, from a distance of 300 yards (274 meters).  It was the first time that a military sniper was used in the history of warfare and something undreamt of by the British.  Murphy would go on to take out further targets during the war with equal accuracy.

3. Henry Knox: Henry Knox was an expert on artillery and known to be a rather portly individual.  His most amazing feat came when he ended the Siege of Boston and drove the occupying British troops and Navy from the city on 5 March 1776.  The British had occupied and held Boston since shortly after the War started at Lexington and Concord.  The Continentals knew that they could not win unless they recaptured the city but the British were confident that their position was secure.  The thought of the Continentals using artillery never entered their minds because it was completely impossible.  Cannon were so rare and the Continentals didn’t have any.  The closet cannon available to them were at the captured fort at Ticonderoga, over 300 miles (480 km) away.

It was Knox that suggested that the cannon might be retrieved and led the mission to do so.  He brought the 60 tons of artillery through the Berkshire Mountains and the deep snows of winter in an impossible feat.  On the night of 4 March 1776, the cannon were used to fortify the high ground adjacent to the City of Boston on Dorchester Heights.  When the British awoke on the morning of March 5 to the sight of the fortifications and artillery, they knew they had to flee the city.  British General Howe is quoted as saying, "The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army would have done in a month."  After the War when Washington became the first President of the United States, he made Henry Knox Secretary of War.

4. Deborah Sampson:  This woman was so patriotic and embraced the cause of American Independence so deeply that she cut her hair, bound her breasts and enlisted in the 4^th Massachusetts Regiment, as a man, using the name “Robert Shirtliff.”  In this way she served in combat at several battles and it was outside of Tarrytown, New York in 1782, that she was wounded by two musket balls.  She went off on her own to treat her own wounds rather than risk being discovered.  She used her penknife to remove one of the bullets but she would carry the other one for the rest of her life.  After she had recovered sufficiently, she returned to her unit.

The following year, while still serving as “Private Robert Shirtliff, she fell ill with a bad fever.  She was treated by the army surgeons who discovered her secret.  Despite enlisting under false pretenses, her record was so exemplary that she was honorably discharged at West Point in 1783.  She went on to marry and have a family.  She would not only get a pension for her service, but her husband, Benjamin Gannet, would continue to collect it after her death.  It was the first time that a husband had ever received a “widow’s benefit.”

Side 2

1. Allan McLane:  Ask any military mastermind.  After battlefield tactics, the most critical consideration is your supply train and intelligence.  If you don’t have supplies, you can’t fight and you certainly can’t win.  The Continental Army had practically no resources or supplies and they were facing the British Redcoats with the full support of the British Empire behind them.  No one expected the American Colonists to win.  Allan McLane was an expert forager and always managed to find what Washington needed.  When his troops were barefoot, it was McLane who found them boots.  When the troops had no food, McLane led a team and rustled a herd of cattle from the British Army.  The British had originally “commandeered” the cattle from the colonists so McLane was just taking back what was ours.  When the army needed uniforms, it was again McLane who came through, even spending his own money to provide Washington what was needed.  He had inherited a small family fortune and would often dig into his pockets to finance the war.

Along with foraging supplies, he also set up an intelligence network second to none.  This way, Washington had extremely accurate intelligence for the day on the movements of the British.

2. John Glover:  General John Glover commanded the 14^th Continental Regiment out of Marblehead, Massachusetts.  Marblehead to this day is known as a fishing port as it was back in the 18^th century.  The 14^th consisted mostly of able bodied seamen and were skilled with boats.  Fortunately, they were on hand at the Battle of Long Island in August of 1776 when Washington and his army found themselves surrounded on Brooklyn Heights with their backs to the East River.  As the sun set on August 29th, it was obvious that they would face capture or be killed by the outnumbering British force in the morning, the War seemed to be over. Using rowboats, John Glover’s men were able to secretly evacuate Washington’s army and when the sun came up, the British found no Americans on the island.  They had miraculously disappeared.  Using rowboats, the 14^th had evacuated 9,000 soldiers from Long Island to Manhattan in the dark without a single loss of life.  Washington and his army would survive to fight, and eventually win, the War.

Glover’s 14^th Regiment performed admirably during many battles but their most famous task happened on Christmas Night, 1777.  On that night, Glovers 14^th was responsible for crossing the Delaware River, ferrying Washington’s army to perform a surprise attack on Trenton, New Jersey, held by the Hessians on behalf of the British. Across the icy river and through treacherous currents, they delivered 2ooo troops and their cannon to the New Jersey side in the darkness of night. The attack was a success and the 14 Regiment under Glover has become known as the first ever amphibious unit.  All amphibious landings, including those at Normandy Beach during the Second World War, can trace their origins to John Glover and his men of Marblehead, Massachusetts.

3. George Washington:  I guess you have to include him.  He is the one hero that is probably universally known on the album.  I see no need to explain who he was so nuff said.

4. General Von Steuben:  Many historians note the American debt to various foreign elements in their defeat of the British.  Most notable is the French alliance through the Marquis de Lafayette, but another figure was the German, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben (the full name is used throughout the song), or just General Von Steuben.  Washington’s army was not only under supplied, they had no formal training.  The average British soldier was a career warrior with the best weapons and training known at the time.  The typical Continental Soldier was a farmer that was given a musket and asked to serve.  Washington couldn’t hope to be victorious against the best trained army in the world.  Enter Von Steuben.

He volunteered to help Washington and train his troops.  He spoke no English, yet through example and other means, he managed to train 100 troops to properly drill, use military tactics and properly engage the enemy in a disciplined fashion.  He taught these men to train others and thus Washington’s army learned to fight in a proper military fashion.  Washington made him Inspector General of the Army and he went on to write Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, which was still the standard manual almost 100 years later during the Civil War.  Now procedures and tactics were unified and the army could work well together, with everyone knowing how things worked and what their part in it was.

After the War, Baron Von Steuben became an American citizen of considerable prominence, living out his life in New York and New Jersey.

5. The Continental Soldier (Finale):  We revisit the man in the field, the everyday Continental Soldier.  Many men served with great honor and dedication and their efforts were no less than the ones sung about here.  In order so they do not fall into obscurity, this final version of the song contains an emotional reading of the rolls of one of the Companies of the Continental Army from and existing muster list.

When my father went away on business, he would bring us each back something as a reward for being good while he was gone.  In 1965, he made a business trip to New York City and he brought us each home a souvenir from there.  I got the Cinema ’76 record and I was delighted.  As a young kid, I already had a love of music and records, and my father knew this.

An artist's depiction of the exhibits within the pavilion depicting the Revolutionary War subjects.

The record came from a pavilion that bore the same name as the record, “Cinema ’76.”  It was sponsored and promoted by the Continental Insurance Company, and was obviously an indirect ad for the company promoting their corporate logo which was the Continental Soldier.  Visitors were invited to watch presentations at various stations depicting the story of each individual using dioramas and slideshows.  (See above.)  The story was told with the songs that are collected together on the album.  The record is really the soundtrack to the exhibit.

One interesting thing about this record is that the stories are told without any exaggeration or the taking of any license.  It is refreshing in this regard.  Every fact sung about is 100% accurate historically and if errors are made at all, it is in the under-telling of information for brevity’s sake.  My narratives above are written to help flesh out some of these under-tellings.

Cover of the brochure depicting the Continental Insurance logo on the front of the pavilion.

Fun Facts…

Fun Fact #1: When Washington crossed the Delaware, both Henry Knox and Timothy Murphy were among the 2000 men ferried across the river by John Glover and his men.  Henry Knox was in charge of the artillery and Sgt. Timothy Murphy was member of the 12^th Pennsylvania Regiment.

Fun Fact #2:  It was General Benedict Arnold who gave the original order for Timothy Murphy to take out British General Simon Fraser.  Later in the war, Benedict Arnold would betray the Continental Army, forever equating his name in American vernacular with the word, “traitor.”

Fun Fact #3:  There is a line in the song about George Washington that says, “He was more than the subject of a Gilbert Stuart portrait.”  Artist Gilbert Stuart’s famous portrait of Washington was used to create the image on the Dollar bill and is what most people think of when they think of him.  Unfortunately for poor old George, he hated that picture of himself and said it didn’t look anything like him.  The image that generations would use to depict him was one he couldn’t stand.  How would you feel, upon becoming famous, learning that history will forever remember you by your dopey driver’s license photo?

Fun Fact #4:  Deborah Sampson served as a member of the Light Infantry Company of the 4^th Massachusetts Regiment.  The light infantry consisted of men who had above average strength, speed and combat skill.  They had to move swiftly and cover flanks, perform reconnaissance and cover retreats.  They were essentially the Green Berets of their day.  Some have theorized that she did this on purpose.  After all, who would suspect a woman performing in that capacity?  The subversion worked and Deborah served admirably, striking and early blow for Women’s Liberation.

Fun Fact #5: There is a line repeated in the John Glover song about the Marblehead boatmen, “Row men, row!”  This line caused some confusion for DJ Sue when she first listened to this record as a child since she was pretty sure that the Roman Army was not involved in the American Revolution.  (“Row men” sounds just like “Roman.”)

Fun Fact #6:  Many commentators have credited this record to the late great recording artist, Ray Charles.  There is a credit in the album, “Words & music by Ray Charles,” but it is a different Ray Charles and not the famous R&B legend.

DJ Sue's Vault...

The cover of my copy of Cinema '76

Back Cover showing one of the images used to tell about Allan McLane

Opening the record reveals a book with pages to go with each story.  This page helps to tell the story of Baron Von Steuben.

Another page, this time telling the story of Allan McLane.  Note the second frame is the back cover shown above.

The front page of the book has the lyrics to the Continental Soldier.  The picture of the soldier is actually the corporate logo for the Continental Insurance Company at the time.  A shameless plug.

Conclusion…

Most of you know how deep my love of history goes.  I have written extensively on the history of the Mowadeng and Shadowhawk families in Second Life and carefully woven the threads into the real world history surrounding the events.  This love of history started early with my interest in the American Revolution and that interest started with my father giving me this record.  I found the heroism in these stories on par or exceeding those in any storybook so I took interest in them.

So join me this Sunday night (July 2^nd) at AWT from 7-9 PM, as we get into the spirit of the July Fourth Independence Day celebration.  Let us honor these heroes whom history seems to have forgotten.  There is a line from the song, Allan McLane, which is probably most telling for most of them:

“Alas, his name is clean forgotten: Allan McLane.”

Hey, Hey LBJ, How Many Kids Did You Kill Today (Protesting Vietnam)

How Did We Get Here… er…  um… There?

On 7 December 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and there was no question that our involvement in World War II was justified.  Things got a bit more complicated with the Korean War.  Korea was under Japanese rule until the Soviet Union (Russia) liberated the northern half and U.S. forces liberated the southern half.  After World War II, the United Nations recognized two separate countries, North Korea and South Korea.  The North was communist, supported by China and the Soviets and the South, a free democracy like the United States.

After World War II, there was a fear that the Communists would take over the world.  We only had to look towards the countries liberated from the Nazis by the Soviets to see a trend.  Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, etc. were ALL communist and part of what we called the “Soviet Bloc.”  In the aftermath of the War, Germany and Berlin were each divided into four parts and each administered by one of the Allies.  The United States, Great Britain and France each relinquished control of their parts to become West Germany.  The Soviet controlled portions became East Germany and East Berlin and eventually, the Berlin Wall would go up.  Understanding this it was not hard to see our justification in defending South Korea when the North invaded.

This is important background information if you want to understand Vietnam.  Bear with me for just another minute.

Thus began the Cold War and school children, like me, were taught to “duck and cover” and drilled in this so we’d know what to do when the Russians finally bombed us.  There was a predominant fear that the Communists, led by the Soviet Union, would conquer more and more countries and this became known as the “Domino Theory.”  We couldn’t let them advance and had to stop any more countries from falling to Communism.  This is why the Soviet support of the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro just ninety miles off our shore was so disturbing.  We felt that our very existence was threatened if any more countries fell.

Next Stop is Vietnam

Prior to World War II, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and portions of Thailand were all part of what was known as “French Indochina.”  When France fell to Hitler, it was natural for his Axis ally, Japan, to invade French Indochina.  In Vietnam, a resistance army was formed and led by Ho Chi Minh. It must be remembered that during World War II, the Soviet Union, China and Ho Chi Minh were our allies along with the French and we were all fighting against Germany, Italy and Japan.

Remember I said it was easy to justify our fighting in World War II and though a little more complex, we could understand Korea too?  We knew why we were fighting in those two cases.  Vietnam was far more complex.

During World War II, President Roosevelt made it clear that the French would not regain control of Indochina after the War. As the War came to an end, Chinese troops occupied the northern half of Indochina, cleaning up the Japanese there, while the British and the French took care of the south.  What came next is so complex that I can’t hope to explain it all here.  I have already taken considerable license in simplification already and I’m next going to take it up a few more notches and over simplify things on an astounding level.  I think if you are going to understand Vietnam it is important for me to do this.

The British left the area and Thailand was made whole.  Laos and Cambodia were liberated and recognized as separate and free countries.  The French were not going to completely relinquish control in the region and decided that they were going to remain in Vietnam.  Our former ally and a communist, Ho Chi Minh, declared North Vietnam to be independent of the French or anyone else for that matter.  The French set up a government that was sympathetic to their cause in South Vietnam.

Many in South Vietnam hated the French and Ho Chi Minh and North Vietnam felt that there should be a united Vietnam.   Let the fighting begin.

The French were unable to gain the upper hand throughout the 1950’s.  It was during the 50’s that the United States began sending military advisors.

So why did we care about Vietnam?  Was it to help clean up the French mess?  Remember, Roosevelt said that the French would not reacquire there territory in Indochina, so why were we fighting for that?  Maybe it was because of the Domino Theory and we couldn’t let another country topple, giving communism a stronger hold on the world.  Apparently these reasons were not good enough as President Kennedy specifically said he had a plan to withdraw from Vietnam and the first troops would be coming home by December 1963.

On 22 November 1963, Lyndon Baines Johnson (commonly referred to as “LBJ”) became the 36^th President of the United States.  None of the 23,000 troops in Vietnam would be coming home.  In fact, five years later when LBJ turned over the office to Richard Nixon, he had increased the number of troops there to over 500,000.

Tom Paxton said it best with his protest song, which you will hear on Sunday, where he said…

“Lyndon Johnson told the nation

Have no fear of escalation.

I am trying everyone to please.

Though it isn't really war,

We're sending fifty thousand more

To help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese.”

I think if I had to put my finger on one reason that this nation was divided it would be this dichotomy.  President Kennedy, who stood up to the communists over the Cuban Missile Crisis, didn’t see any need for us to be involved in Vietnam so why was LBJ  keeping us in Vietnam and escalating our involvement?  These were our family and friends, our neighbors and co-workers, being sent half way around the world to die in some rice paddy or jungle.  Was it worth it?  For what reason?

Most of my parents’ generation, the “Greatest Generation” that won World War II, felt that we had to stop communism at all costs.  Most of my generation felt we had no business sticking our noses in where they didn’t belong.

War protest was not new in America.  While the Revolution and the War of 1812 were like World War II and there was no question that we were justified, when we went to war with Mexico in 1846 there was a question of why.  Henry David Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience in protest to the Mexican-American War and slavery.  Americans have been protesting War ever since.

The Counterculture of the 60’s was largely fueled by the Vietnam War and the protests thereof.  This was the first televised war and each night we saw it on the news, complete with body counts, reporters crouching behind tanks as machine-gun bullets whizzed by and interviews with soldiers in the field.  As the war entered our homes, the question of whether we even belonged there was hotly debated at kitchen tables and in living rooms across the nation.  The divide was becoming so great that a new term started to become popular, the “generation gap.”  It was probably the most defining factor in being a part of the “Baby Boomer” generation, growing up in this household I just described.  The War was depicted on TV in such detail that for a while, I was not allowed to watch the news!  They didn’t want me exposed to the violence of destroying villages with names that sounded like “Dum Phuc.”  (Dumb Fuck?)

Soon there were marches and other protest events across the country.  The Counterculture began to embrace manners of dress and literature along with its anti-war philosophies and beliefs.  And then there was the music.  In my series, “Sue’s Sunday Sojourns,” I often mentioned Vietnam because I just couldn’t separate it from living in the time and listening to music.  I covered a lot of Vietnam in my Bob Seger sojourn.  I talked about the day I lost my innocence when National Guard troops fired upon and killed four war protesters at Kent State in 1970 in my DEVO sojourn.  My final sojourn with Phil Ochs was entirely about the Vietnam War and protesting it.  I see no need to repeat anything I have previously covered so I have linked those sojourns here, above.  Feel free to read more of about it and learn about my experience along with more history.  If you have already read them and not lived through those times, I hope my explanation here has helped you to understand better a very complex time in our history.

The nation was so divided that in 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read ‘Vietnam.’"

Pete Seeger, an avid war protester from my parents’ generation put out many good anti-war tunes.  He talked about his father who was a musician and a communist back in the 1920’s and how he believed that music should be a part of the struggle of the people and this was impressed upon Seeger.  He has quoted his father as saying, “If there’s going to be a new society, there must be a new music.”  It’s this music I plan to share with all of you this Sunday.  The songs will be mostly Rock and Folk music but there will be a couple of Blues tunes and some Country thrown in.

In the end we must remember that 58,318 Americans were killed and 303,644 were wounded in Vietnam.  There are still 1,610 missing or unaccounted for.  What did we gain?  Was it worth it?  I answer with a resounding, “NO!”  Maybe Thoreau was onto something when he discussed how governments weren’t always right about things like going to war:

“Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.”

Fun Fact…

Ho Chi Minh, President of North Vietnam and our enemy in the 60’s, was actually an ally during World War II against the Japanese.  He and his resistance force were responsible for rescuing many downed American pilots and kept them from being killed or captured by the Japanese.  Many American airmen during World War II owed their lives to Ho Chi Minh.

Your Vietnam Glossary

I’ve compiled some terms that you may hear in some of the songs or if you read up on the era.  These are useful ones to know.

Charlie: The communist forces fighting the guerilla war were known as the Viet Cong (see below).  This was shortened to “VC.”  The military uses something called the “Phonetic Alphabet” when verbally communicating letters since many sound similar, especially over a radio.  “VC” converted to the Phonetic Alphabet equivalent becomes “Victor Charlie,” which was eventually shortened to just “Charlie.”  Robin Williams had a great funny line in Good Morning Vietnam when he said, “It isn't easy to find a Vietnamese man named ‘Charlie.’"

Draft Cards: When men turned 18 they were required to register with Selective Services and be eligible for the Draft.  They were issued draft cards as proof that they had complied with the law and done so.  Many men would publicly burn their cards in protest of the war.  It was illegal to knowingly destroy or mutilate your draft card and one case even went as far as the Supreme Court where they decided that freedom of speech did not cover destruction of government property.

Hanoi: The capital of North Vietnam.

Hanoi Hilton: This was the nick name the Americans gave to the prison in North Vietnam that housed many of the American POW’s.  It was originally built by the French as a prison for political prisoners.

Hanoi Jane: This is the derogatory nickname that American servicemen gave to Jane Fonda.  Fonda protested the war but took things too far when she visited North Vietnam, posed for publicity photos for them in antiaircraft guns used to shoot down American planes and even recorded “Tokyo Rose” type broadcasts that were used to demoralize American troops and prisoners.  Many believe she is guilty of treason for this.

Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?:  This was a chant that protesters would use to taunt President Johnson anytime he appeared in public.  It is in reference to the number of 18 and 19 year olds he was sending over to Vietnam to only be shipped home in a box a few months later.

Ho Chi Minh: President and leader of North Vietnam.  During World War II, he led the resistance against the Japanese.

Ho Chi Minh Trail: No one in Indochina liked the French, so when they tried to reclaim Vietnam and went to war with Ho Chi Minh and the North, they had no support in the region.  Laos and Cambodia let Ho Chi Minh and his army across their border and use their countries to safely shuttle supplies and men between North Vietnam and places in the South.  The French, and later the Americans, couldn’t engage them over there in those countries.  This supply line became known as the “Ho Chi Minh Trail.”  This led to a secret war in those countries that we weren’t at war with.

Khe Sanh:  A battle that lasted from January to July of 1968.  In it the North laid siege to the American base near Khe Sanh as part of the Tet Offensive.  (see below)  In March 1968 the order came directly from LBJ to “to hold Khe Sanh at all costs.”  The siege was finally broken and relief arrived to the American forces in April.  In the end, the base had to be evacuated anyway and after great loss.  Over 1500 American soldiers were killed and over 7500 wounded.  Bruce Springsteen mentions a fictitious brother killed at Khe Sanh in Born in the USA…

“I had a brother at Khe Sahn,

Fighting off the Viet Cong.

They're still there, he's all gone.”

Saigon:  Capital of South Vietnam.  After the city fell to the North Vietnamese in 1975 it was renamed “Ho Chi Minh City.”

Tet Offensive:  Tet is the Vietnamese New Year and is the biggest celebration of the year with both secular and religious meaning.  The North and VC took advantage of the agreed upon nationwide cease fire for the holiday and launched an attack that caught the South and the Americans off guard.  On top of that, it was a nationwide operation hitting most major cities and towns at the same time.  The Americans eventually came back from their initial losses but it was costly.

Viet Cong (VC):  Also known as the “National Liberation Front.”  These were the guerrilla forces in South Vietnam who were working in cooperation with North Vietnam to overthrow the South Vietnamese government and defeat the Americans.  Their ultimate goal was a united Vietnam under communist rule.