I do pay heed and have concerns when the brother who has collected a fair number of hunting rifles since his return from Vietnam does not talk firearms in some manner or reloading. He is always buying, selling, or trading but I think the static number continues to grow. About once a year he does slide downward he sells two or three firearms only to acquire five or six.
I called him Tuesday and things were different, and I let him talk. He had finished one letter, and had started a second letter to the group putting together a re-union for the Marine Corp outfit he was with in Vietnam. He is asking the group to recognize two Marines who made it back, but died from cancer.
Agent Orange came to mind, because my brother said they saturated with it along the DMZ.
These marines were bound by their battle for survival during the Battle of Khe Sanh and events prior and afterwards.
The Sergeant had been blown out of one or more tanks by NVA tanks. He called the other Marine “the Kid.”
The Kid was assigned to my brother as a fresh body to receive on-the-job operation training. My brother was a Marine radio operator who received two purple hearts during the battle. Brother felt his first duty was to teach the kid how to survive while doing his job. A small percentage of my brother’s Company made it back alive.
When my brother returned from Vietnam he told me a few things that have stuck with me:
Those people are not worth dying for.
The skills he acquired hunting jack rabbits, deer, and birds taught him how to react and effectively shoot in a combat situation or in a life situation.
At an early reunion with his fellow Marines my brother was handed a thick letter written by the Kid. The Kid was thankful for the training and the Old Man (Age 21-21) keeping him alive so he could make it home. The Kid invited my brother to visit him and his family in Minnesota. My brother flew to Minneapolis and was met by the Kid and his parents. He had a good two week visit and remembers the time they spent out in a boat fishing. He said life had been harsh on the veteran and his health was not the best.
I have known a number of veterans from the war. Many of them are gun owners who have collected a number of firearms since their return. They have been relatives, hunting partners, co-workers, and acquaintances.
They now face an uphill battle by those who would steal that right to own firearms and ammunition. It is interests that leading cities in this effort are sanctuary cites. These cities encourage illegal immigration which has become a hot bed of criminal activity. They use the actions of these illegals to argue against the rights on U.S. Citizens. They want the large number of illegal aliens to be counter towards the population count that feeds Federal grants to communities, and the number of congressmen that a State has, and the composition of State and local political districts.
I have worked with many Hispanic citizens and they are a fine people. They are also victims of illegal immigration. I became a friend of a Hispanic deer hunter. He and his wife visited our home a number of times. As a young man he had belonged to a gang. He joined the Navy to get away from the gang and served in Vietnam. After his military service he married and moved his young family out of L.A. The last time we spoke was about the expansion of the gangs because of illegal immigration. Illegal immigration had put his children at risk.
The legislators from Southern California rule California. A new law requiring handguns micro stamping ammunition went into effect today. The law was introduced by a Hispanic legislator. The Hispanic Caucus is the power factor in California. Laws regarding firearms and ammunition are driven by these people whose numbers increase because of illegal immigration. California is not unique and it is coming to you community and State government.
