DU vets.. Were there pictures taken of you or BY you in the military?

[SoCalDem]

This seems to be the latest "talking point".. "Kerry had a film crew following him around"..

Every vet I have ever known took TONS of pictures..and the ones who could afford it took movies..and their families sent movies from home in exchange..

Did only democrats think of this?? Are repubes that out of touch that they went off to war, and never figured out how to take a picture?? or to have a friend film them walking a trail or a beach, so they could send the film home to Mom & Dad???

Tell us about your picture taking experiences, and post some if you have them.. We can then forward this to the media types who seem "amazed" that Kerry has PICTURES of when he was in Viet Nam..

People also forget that at that time, the far east was THE PLACE to buy inexpensive. yet excellent electronic stuff...and cameras..

[Racenut20]

1. I recall the comments that VN was the most photographed

Country in the World. Me ??? Only about 200 slides tucked safely in the closet.

[Inland]

2. Those who have seen Kerry's "film"

say it is remarkably like a home video, without combat footage and indeed, largely without Kerry since it was his camera and he would have been operating it. Film crew is exactly the type of nutbag lie that we have learned to expect from the pubbie lie machine.

[luaneryder]

3. I was a military photojournalist

so took tons of slides and stills. Plus, we were being photographed constantly by others even a contingent of Communist Chinese Generals. There is NO amazement to any of it. It was a part of being in the military.

[Cleopatra2a]

4. Yes

My SO was in Vietnam. He has lots of pictures, and since he was a poor Mexican kid with a camera, why can't people believe Kerry had a movie camera?? My dad was in WW 2 (another poor Mexican kid) and he sent my mom a recording on a 33(?) that we still have.

[SoCalDem]

5. Welcome to DU, Cleo

:hi:

[Berserker]

14. SoCalDem Is that Dim Bulb visiting the Olympics?

"Now Watch this DIVE"

[SoCalDem]

16. Ooooh, That's a good one.. I'll have to change the caption now

:)

[NMDemDist2]

6. welcome to DU

oh beautiful queen of the Nile (but not of d'nile :) )

:hi:

[IdaBriggs]

8. Welcome! n/t

[lottie244]

10. My dad was in WWII in the S. Pacific during WWII and he sent my mom

a recording and photographs.

[sattahipdeep]

7. PICTURES

http://www.musarium.com/stories/vietnaminc/interview.html :hi:

[ElectroPrincess]

9. My brother brought a tape recorder and 35mm Camera ...

A significant number of middle class kidz (my brother was 17 y.o. when he joined the 101st Airborne), especially those who volunteered carried small tape (remember reel to reel? <g>) players and/or 35mm camera for his tour in Vietnam. My brother had the bucks to take both a recorder and a 35mm and served as an NCO - NOT an journalist NOR an officer.

That argument (Kerry brought his own film crew with him) by the right wing nutcases is beyond asinine. On edit, it was his buddies that took turns filming each other.

There's no bottom to the slime they hurl Kerry's way. I'm hoping for a backlash.

[jimshoes]

11. Not unusual at all

I was not in the military or in VN but I took a ton of home movies back in the late 60's and 70's. Home movies were cheap to take then and lots of people took them. You had to be alive back then to feel the dread when someone wanted to show you their home movies.

[Vickers]

12. Didn't Abu Ghraib teach them that GIs take photos of EVERYTHING?

Goddammit, these folks are just stupid.

Look, I was in the military 8 years, I probably took anywhere from 350 to 400 rolls of film in that time.

Cameras are cheap at the PX (compared to the local economy), so GIs pick 'em up. Then they take lots of photos to send to the folks back home.

And yes: some guys had camcorders!!!!! Holy shit!!!!

[Gildor Inglorion]

13. My friends and I took TONS of pictures

Nha Trang, Vietnam, where I was stationed, is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Taking pictures was inevitable.
Check out the 360 degree camera at this site:
http://www.pattayacity.com/nt/

:dem:

[Gruenemann]

25. it's gorgeous

and the prices amazing! I'm ready to start packing...

[Alpharetta]

15. My dad got his camera on a short leave to Hong Kong

lots of the soldiers in Vietnam did that. They were all picking up those new nikon's.

Came back from Vietnam w/ a zillion photos.

Makes you wonder how, with all the yuppie officers and their fancy nikkormat lenses, so few pics were taken of Bush on duty Alabama.

[Vickers]

17. That's what this is all about, I think

They are justifying the lack of Alabama NG photos of Georgie (and using it as another opportunity to attack Kerry) by saying he didn't have a film crew following him around.

[SoCalDem]

18. Hard to take pics of the "Invisible Airman"

:).

[Vickers]

19. Exactly! I could photographically "vouch" for probably 1,000 people

Just pictures I took over the years, at the squadron, or around the dorms, on the job, while out sightseeing, at military functions, whatever.

I have pictures of LOTS of folks. If I thought for ONE MINUTE that I could prove somebody was somewhere (and make some money off it probably :P) I would be going through all of my photos right now.

[SoCalDem]

20. and.. you probably remember the names of most of the people

you served with, and can remember stories of stuff they told you, or that happened..

Invisible Airman's Amnesia is just too convenient..drugs or no drugs

[Vickers]

21. Remember the names? Eh, I was drunk a lot of the time

:spank:

But, if I *heard* the name on TV, and saw a recent photo, I would remember even through my booze-fogged memories.

[oneighty]

22. Yes

I still communicate with men I served with in Korea '52. I took pictures with my 'Brownie Camera'.

Hard to believe cameras were around that long ago isn't it.

In fact it is hard to believe I was around that long ago.

Hee hee hee.

180

[Karenina]

23. IIRC, DemoTex

Has some phenomenal aerial shots...

[Tsiyu]

24. Glad y'all are refuting this crap

but don't try to read much reason into what the enemy says. They are grasping at straws, and KKKarl Rove has Annie Coulter to whisper lame insults in his ear when he's relaying talking points to the Gestapo.

EVERYONE was taking home movies back then because it was a new technology for the common man. We were all fascinated that we could capture images just like the TV networks.

Kerry had no clue then he would be running for Pres in 2004, any more than Bush did. But if the Repukes are correct in saying the two DID know they would be in this heat today, at least Kerry showed more leadership and foresight than the cokehead alcoholic *. And we know * can only vacation or campaign, so his AWOL years carry on.

Kerry's constructive, full, responsible service will also carry on, so * can stay in Crawford where he belongs!!!!!!!!

[Kimber Scott]

26. Weren't there pictures and movies of Kennedy and Bush, Sr. in the

service? Hmmmm?

[Nordic]

27. my Dad came back from Nam with THOUSANDS of photos

they're sitting in boxes in his basement. One of these days I want to go through them.

My brother in law also took a lot of photos on his tour over there, although not as many cuz he was a Green Beret.

[Ernesto]

28. I shot roll after roll

Unfortunatly for me, I intrusted the Vietnamese to develop them. I never saw the film again. (casualty of war)

[LibraLabSoldier]

29. I have a ton of pictures,

Although most of them show me being silly in a military setting...Of course, I have a medical condition that keeps me from being serious for more than 90 seconds at a time.....I couldnt run for office because of some of them. There was an incident involving chickens at fort polk..... I DONT WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!!!!

[pbeal]

30. yes tons

Army 1984 - 1992
I broke 3 cameras in the process of taking over 2,000 photos I have photos of me and friends passed out, drinking, with various prostitutes, various photos of nakedness, at BBQ's, receiving promotions and awards, on countless field exercises standing over dead Panamanians from operation Just Cause, standing with guys from the "New Panamanian police force after Just Cause", Dead Iraqis from desert storm, Live Iraqi POWs from Desert Storm, and a ton of landscape photos. I know there is video footage of me as well because one of the guys in my platoon always had his video camera with him where ever he went.

all of my first sergeants and platoon sergeants who served in Vietnam had a ton of photos from their tours there as well. Its stupid to think that Senator Kerry purposefully had photos taken for some "Grand Scheme" but of course most of the people who are Accusing him of that are pretty stupid anyway.

[TrogL]

31. I have a picture of my father in WW II

He appears to be supervising somebody doing something to a high-powered radio.

I'll try to post the pic when I get home.

[11 Bravo]

32. In '71 my Mom saw me on the CBS evening news.

My unit had been in a 2 day running firefight and afterward I was helping to tag them and bag them and load them onto a Huey. She told me after I got home that it was the first time she had cried since she was 16 years old.