albert_smith Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Sad news for those of us old enough to have followed Viet Nam in the press back in the '60s and '70s. Horst Fass is in bad shape, becoming ill during a reunion of PJs in htat country for the 30th year Anniversary of the end of the war.<P> He had a sudden blood clot on his spine and is now paralyzed. See whole story at the link below><P> <a href="http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2005/05/faas2.html"> Link</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Important story. Follow the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_chan4 Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Poignant and touching. Reminds me of CCR's "Who'll Stop The Rain". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35mmdelux Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 i was too young to follow the war in the press but not too young to serve. huurah. hope he makes a rapid recovery. best from L.A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_patterson Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Jeez. Thanks for posting this...I hadn't heard. I know Page and knew they were going over there, but I missed the story about Faas. Here's hoping they can get him on the mend...he's a helluva guy. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulr Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Thanks for the link. I do follow some of these PJ's that worked in Viet Nam. I recently ordered "Another Viet Nam Pictures of the War from the Other Side" by Tim Page and the National Geographic DVD to match. Sadly age is setting on these guys. I personally cannot put a value on their experiences and photography they have given us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray_nieves Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 I do not know Horst, but I was in the Air Force and have nothing but the highest respect for PJs, AKA "Rescue Commandos". Few people know who they are and what they do, but more and more programs have come out on cable about the incredible training and risks they take and how it is easier to become a Navy Seal, Army Special Forces or Marine Force Recon that it is to be a PJ. They are quiet, unsung heros. I hope Horst pulls out OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aoresteen Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Ray, Having served as a Green Beret for 16 years I can assure it it's no cake walk. What PJs do is not harder; it's different. I worked with a number of PJs while I was with 10th Group in Europe and they all thought we were nuts. We were. A PJ can (and do) decide for themselves when to exit an area. SF teams don't have that ability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 PJs helped get us us the hell out of Vietnam, but not fast enough. Google chennault nixon vietnam to see why fully half the Vietnam deaths occurred. Watergate took press attention from a Congressional investigation on something even worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert_smith Posted June 9, 2005 Author Share Posted June 9, 2005 Ray, I was in the Air Force too, for over 22 years, and also respect the PJs, but we are talking about two different things. I was meaning "photo journalist", not para-rescue when I used "PJ". Fass is a famous photo journalist that covered the war, and was back in-country for a reunion of other PJs, when he fell ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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