Canadian Vietnam vets:

[Ariovistus]

Researching this issue one source I found said that the number of Canadians who enlisted in the US Army to fight in Vietnam far exceeded the number of Americans who dodged the draft and fled to Canada. Did they have to lie about their citizenship or their legal status to enlist in the US armed forces, or were these guys just signed up by the recruiters with no questions asked?
For years Canada's Vietnam vets were not recognized officially for their services by the Canadian government since afterall, Canada was officially neutral. they were finally honored by Canada in 1995 with the unveling of their own Vietnam memorial called The North Wall patterned after the Vietnam War Memorial in the US.
Has anyone visited the North Wall Memorial?

I didn't serve with any Canadians in Vietnam but I did serve with one in Panama in the '80. He said that it was not a problem to retain Canadian citizenship while serving with the U.S. Army. I guess it was about like the guys we had serving with the RAF or the Chinese AF before we entered WWII.

We weren't recognized here for years either although it didn't take quite that long.

[DMZ-LT]

Had two guys who were Mexican citizens in my platoon in Viet Nam. Had come over on a green card and got drafted. Like my Dad they were made citizens after their service

[1CAVCCO15MED]

There were two in my company in Vietnam. One was drafted and the other volunteered.

[frisco-kid]

Canadians have served in the American military since the Civil War. Over the years 40 of them have received Congressional Medals Of Honor, including Sp/4 Peter C. Lemon of Norwich, Ontario, for his actions while serving in a recon company in the 1st Cav in VN. Conversely, 35,000 Americans served in the Canadian military between 1914-17 before the U.S. entered WWI; and 30,000 between 1939-41 before the U.S. entered WWII.

It's hard to pin down how many served during VN. There's estimates from 3500-12,000. Some sources say it may have been as many as 30-40,000! The difficulty lies in the fact that the many that joined or were drafted while living here were recorded as Americans. There are 100 confirmed Canadian KIA and 6 MIA on The Wall. It's estimated that between 30-40,000 COWARDS fled from here to Canada. What ever the number of BRAVE Canadians that served by our sides, we came out WAAYYY ahead on this trade. I personally served with 2 Canadians, an Irishman, and a Scot.

Many of the foreigners that joined our military did so for the quick citizenship they were granted at the end of their enlistment. However, as I recall, the two Canadians I served with planned on returning to Canada. I think their's a certaint breed of men that are just going to show up for a war. If it happens to be someone else's, so be it. The Irishman and I were pretty good buddies. He was originally from County Armagh, but lived in Baltimore. He was seriously wounded [shot in the face], and I never heard of him again after he was dusted off. His name isn't on The Wall, so he survived. I hope life has been good to him.

BTW, Ariovistus, I'm glad to see that you made it over here. Looking forward to seeing more of your posts.

AIRBORNE ALL THE WAY, little Bro.

[Ariovistus]

Hiya Frisco, I'm surprised to see so many people from THC out here.
Anyway, you know what they say about Irishmen and Scots, you can't keep them out of a good scrap. And I suppose that goes for Canadians too.



Eighty deuce on the loose bro.

[frisco-kid]

Originally posted by Ariovistus Anyway, you know what they say about Irishmen and Scots, you can't keep them out of a good scrap. And I suppose that goes for Canadians too.

Eighty deuce on the loose bro.

I certainly do. Three of my grandparents were from Ireland [both of my Mom's parents, and my Dad's Mom], and the other one was a French-Canadian from Quebec. Was raised to be very proud of my Irish roots. My middle name is my Mom's maiden name; O'Driscoll. I tried to pass this pride on to my kids. My daughter named her oldest boy "Finnegan," another name on our family tree.


Below are the names of the Irish lads that fought beside us in VN, and who are now honored heroes in their adopted country with their names enshrined forever on The Wall. May they all Rest In Peace.


Sgt Patrick Nevin (Army / b.Mayo / KIA 2-23-66)
L/Cpl Paul Maher (Marine Corps / Dublin / KIA 3-5-66)
SP4 Timothy Daly (Army / Limerick / KIA 2-3-67)
L/Cpl Bernard Freyne (Marine Corps / Roscommon / KIA 3-10-67)
SP4 Michael Smith (Army / Cavan / KIA 3-18-67)
Cpl Patrick Gallagher (Marine Corps / Mayo / KIA 3-30-67)
Sgt First Class Edward Howell (Army / Dublin / KIA 4-17-67)
PFC Maurice O?Callaghan (Marine Corps / Dublin / KIA 4-21-67)
PFC John Collopy (Army / Limerick / KIA 7-15-67)
SP4 Edward Scully (Army / Cork / KIA 11-13-67)
Capt. Edmond Landers (Army / Tipperary / KIA 5-15-68)
1/Lt Anthony O?Reilly (Army / Galway / KIA 6-3-68)
Cpl Philip Bancroft (Marine Corps / Belfast / KIA 9-30-68)
Cpl Sean Doran (Army / Dublin / KIA 3-28-69)
L/Cpl Peter Nee (Marine Corps / Connemara / KIA 3-31-69)
1/Lt John Driver (Army / Dublin / KIA 4-17-69)

[Ariovistus]

Originally posted by frisco-kid

Below are the names of the Irish lads that fought beside us in VN, and who are now honored heroes in their adopted country with their names enshrined forever on The Wall. May they all Rest In Peace.


Sgt Patrick Nevin (Army / b.Mayo / KIA 2-23-66)
L/Cpl Paul Maher (Marine Corps / Dublin / KIA 3-5-66)
SP4 Timothy Daly (Army / Limerick / KIA 2-3-67)
L/Cpl Bernard Freyne (Marine Corps / Roscommon / KIA 3-10-67)
SP4 Michael Smith (Army / Cavan / KIA 3-18-67)
Cpl Patrick Gallagher (Marine Corps / Mayo / KIA 3-30-67)
Sgt First Class Edward Howell (Army / Dublin / KIA 4-17-67)
PFC Maurice O?Callaghan (Marine Corps / Dublin / KIA 4-21-67)
PFC John Collopy (Army / Limerick / KIA 7-15-67)
SP4 Edward Scully (Army / Cork / KIA 11-13-67)
Capt. Edmond Landers (Army / Tipperary / KIA 5-15-68)
1/Lt Anthony O?Reilly (Army / Galway / KIA 6-3-68)
Cpl Philip Bancroft (Marine Corps / Belfast / KIA 9-30-68)
Cpl Sean Doran (Army / Dublin / KIA 3-28-69)
L/Cpl Peter Nee (Marine Corps / Connemara / KIA 3-31-69)
1/Lt John Driver (Army / Dublin / KIA 4-17-69)

Thanks for the list Tom. Almost reminds me of an unofficial American Foreign Legion.
In this day and age of having an overstretched military, dwindling recruits and having veterans serve multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, it probably won't be such a bad idea for the US to raise a Foreign Legion to supplement our forces overseas. Vietnam and past wars before that has shown there is no shortage of foreigners willing to fight along side us.
What do you think about this issue Tom?

[frisco-kid]

I don't have a problem with foreigners joining our ranks in war time. If they are willing to put their lives on the line to gain citizenship to this country that much quicker, I think they deserve it and will make excellent Americans. And if it's not for citizenship, but just because they believe in the cause, or for personal adventure, that's okay with me, too.

As far as a "Foreign Legion", it will never happen. Nor, do I think it should. It would give the impression that we are unable to fight our own wars with our own ranks. It also may give the impression of "mercenaries" fighting for us. Plus, if a foreigner wants to join our military, he shouldn't be segregated from the rest of the unit. Nor should they be setup as some kind of "elite" unit, giving the impression that they are somehow superior to the average American fighting man.

[Bill Farnie]

The United States doesn?t need a Foreign Legion, we have ?Contractors?

BTW .... Ariovistus, Welcome to the PF