DON'T FORGET ABOUT VIETNAM! (ATTENTION: See A Name You Know? A Discovered Dog Tag May Be Available)

Kim Komando Show Electronic Newsletter ^ | Jan. 17, 2004 | KimKomando

[fight_truth_decay]

While Stacey Hansen was vacationing in Vietnam, she found some dog tags in a museum. She purchased them for about $2 each. Then, she spent the remainder of her trip looking for more tags. She now has over 500 dog tags that she wants to return to their rightful owners--the veterans themselves, or their families. You can contribute tags and check the list online here: http://www.vietnamdogtags.com

Stacey Hansen,35 years old a Firefighter with a West Coast City

[fight_truth_decay]

From THE STORY BEHIND THE TAGS:

Please view the names on the dog tags arranged in alphabetical order. If you see a name which you think may be yours, or a family member's, please click on the name and fill out the information sheet to the best of your ability. If your information is limited such that you cannot fill out the required fields on the form, please click the "Contact" link and explain why. It is my hope to return as many tags as possible to the rightful owners: The Veterans themselves, or Families of.

PLEASE NOTE:
These dog tags will not be released to the Department of Defense OR sold to individual collectors.

THESE TAGS ARE NOT FOR SALE!

LET FREEDOM RING!

...and LOVE prevail.

Story brought to my attention by "The Digital Goddess", Kim Komando's newsletter.

[ThePythonicCow]

Careful - try a Google search for "vietnam dog tag scam" before trusting this report too much.

[CyberAnt]

And .. lets not ever forget Vietnam was a DEMOCRAT mess. They don't like war and even when they start it or get involved in it they don't support it financially or otherwise. Then .. they cower and leave our military to be slaughtered. We must never allow the democrats to have power over our military again.

[fight_truth_decay]

http://www.vietnamdogtags.com/Names/names.html

This is not a scam.

VietnamDogTags
P.O. Box 7972
Santa Cruz, CA 95061

info@vietnamdogtags.com




Please note that all regular and electronic mail will be directed solely to Stacey's attention.

And we know the integrity of Kim Komando: The toll-free number is 1-888-825-5254 (Saturdays toll-free 1-888-825-5254, between 7 a.m. - 10 a.m., Pacific Time (that's 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. on the East Coast).
OR Mail: Go to http://www.komando.com/emailkim.asp

[ThePythonicCow]

Kim Komando is likely fine, and those who listen to her likely have long experience justifying trust in her. Good people can be misguided.

I have no clue how it is that you can know that the Dog Tags on VietnameDogTags are actually from the Dog Tags worn by the named soldiers, not fakes made after the fact.

You might have good reason to know this, and you are welcome to present it.

I can only say that I haven't seen such, and the odds are, based on what I can see so far, not so good.

I was in the Air Force during Vietnam; I speak not from disrespect for our fallen soldiers.

[ThePythonicCow]

LBJ in particular was one of the worst American Presidents in our history.

Some Democrats were sufficiently incompetent to cause less damage. Not LBJ. Some Democrats, like Scoop Jackson, or even the current Zell Miller, might not be as misguided, and some, like perhaps Carter, were too useless to cause such long term damage, thought with Carter, it certainly wasn't for lack of trying.

We need Republicans, and we need good men, in the Oval Office. The current nine eight dwarfs are neither.

[squidly]

I have no clue how it is that you can know that the Dog Tags on VietnameDogTags are actually from the Dog Tags worn by the named soldiers, not fakes made after the fact.

Seeing as how they're not for sale, I don't see what difference it makes.

[wireplay]

To: Thomas Henry Churchill

Dad,

Good to write to you. I know you're not here but the family is doing as well as can be expected. We're proud of your medals but we wish you had come home.

Stev passed away unfortunately and Bill could be doing better. Lorri has held in there even though she was born after you passed away.

I have been fortunate and have 2 beautiful boys, 5 and 6. Carl and John. they would miss their grandfather...I have your picture on my wall along with the medals.

I miss you dad. The boys will as well when they understand.

Love always,

Alan

P.S. - His dog tag isn't on the site: it is buried at Ft Sam Houston. Sorry for being personal...

[ThePythonicCow]

Seeing as how they're not for sale, I don't see what difference it makes.

I didn't say they were for sale. And I am not saying that VietnamDogTags.com is trying to scam you or me.

I am saying that there is a good chance that these Dog Tags were never worn by the persons named on them. The scam, if any, was by those making and selling the tags to Americans like Stacey.

[ProudEagle]

P.S. - His dog tag isn't on the site: it is buried at Ft Sam Houston. Sorry for being personal...

Wonderful letter. And never apologize for being personal about your father who paid the ultimate. I may not have known him, but your dad was my brother nonetheless. God bless him and your family and thanks for sharing.

[Viet Vet in Augusta GA]

It seems this lady is not out to make a profit off this, so I don't want to criticize her too strongly. On the other hand, this may cause some families pain.
Go down any street in Saigon (Ho CHi Minh City, if you prefer) today and every sidewalk vendor -- every one, without exception -- has a bunch of "genuine" GI dogtags for sale, along with "genuine" counterfeit souvenir cigarette lighters from the war era, etc., etc. Vietnamese are great counterfeiters, and dogtags aren't that hard to copy. I think she should at least get some chemical analysis done on them to see if their age can be verified...bet it doesn't pan out.

[Leisler]

How was Vietnam lost? When North Vietnamese armored columns rolled right down the middle of the highways, in broad daylight, for two weeks. Ford asked the Democratic Congress for money and authority to bomb the tanks. We, as a government, had promised the South Vietnamese we would come to their aid. It would of been fairly straight forward. Congress said no, and Soviet made T-64s, plowed through the gates of the US embassy, and other important buildings.

Democrats again stab people in the backs.

[fight_truth_decay]

...the addresses to contact the show and the firefighter are included in this post..and is easy to contact. I suggest if you can prove otherwise..we are all ears. She also would like those with tags to turn them over to the site..It would be the right thing to do. This was also on the show on Saturday (Kim Komando) if you were tuned in. She used her own money to purchase these tags and is not asking for any monetary repayment. I have let both know that the scams have raised an issue with this post and its' authenticity. Always good to be kept aware.

regards

fight_truth_decay

[onyx]

BTTT

[solitas]

Komando, like anyone else, only knows as much as she or her people have been able to research and approve of - just because it's on the show doesn't mean the information is accurate and truthful.

I visited the website: why would pretty-Stacey-of-no-last-name-and-of-parts-unknown be asking for, pretty much, all the information contained on the tags - especially the last four digits of the person's social security number - but NOT the address or a phone number of the person so that the tag(s) could be returned to them???

Unless there's something funny happening there shouldn't be any way she could contact the tag's owner (or family) using only the information provided via the website (especially tracing serial # or social security #)...

Also, the website emphasizes that the tags will not be returned to the DoD - WHY? If ANYONE can verify the tags easily it would be the DoD (and , technically, aren't the tags considered US gov't property and a finder is legally bound to notify the DoD if they're recovered?).

_You_ can do what you want; _I'd_ be wary of sending such information to a third party no matter what kind of sob-story they have.

---

an abridged WHOIS of the URL:

   Registrant:   Nate Rose & Jami Bentivegna   p.o. box 3418   Santa Cruz, CA 95063-3418   US
   (PHONE) 8314794291

   Domain: VIETNAMDOGTAGS.COM
   Registrar: DomainBank.com

   Record created on 2001-12-02
   Record expires on 2005-12-02

[solitas]

oops - I see a last name in the postings, but I don't see the last name 'Hansen' in the story on the website at all. Was the name used on the radio show?

[CyberAnt]

Exactly!! The dems make promises THEY HAVE NO INTENTION OF KEEPING .. THE DEMS MAKE PROMISES TO LOOK GOOD .. NOT BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

[ThePythonicCow]

I suggest if you can prove otherwise..we are all ears.

Please don't continue to suggest that I calling into doubt the honesty of either Stacey the firefighter, or Kim the radio host.

I have no reason to doubt either, and my intuitions are to trust both.

It is the origin of these tags that I call into doubt, whether or not they are tags that were ever actually worn by the soldiers named on them, or were instead manufactured after their death.

Obviously, I cannot prove this. But the google search I recommended above does show what basis I have for this doubt.

[Chu Gary]

"..lets not ever forget Vietnam was a DEMOCRAT mess.."

FYI, if you look at the record of the 20th Century, almost all conflicts/wars that occurred began under a Dimocrat president - most all of them were then "fixed" by a Republican President. Vietnam and a few others, incl. WWII, were initiated after an act of subterfuge by the Dimocrat president at the time.

[Chu Gary]

"I have no clue how it is that you can know that the Dog Tags on VietnameDogTags are actually from the Dog Tags worn by the named soldiers, not fakes made after the fact."

If you walk along Dong Khoi street in Saigon tomorrow, you can probably buy up 5,000 sets of dogtags. The next day there will be 8,000 replacements. When the VN government began paying bounties for rat's tails (rats were eating the grain supplies), people started raising rats so they would have more tails to turn in.

The VN are a poor people and they are hustlers. I have no doubt that Kommando Kim is a very sincere person but I have my doubts as to the authenticity of the dogtags in question.

It would be plenty interesting to crosscheck the names with military records to see if such a person ever served.