Charlie Hughes

Well, it's finally done and in paperback at Amazon! My candid look at people, sights, sounds and smells during my tour from March '67-'68. Includes the hectic pace of the Tet Offensive during which I learned the real meaning of "tired!"

@BuzzPatterson Great start for a book!

Midnight over the North Atlantic, chasing the edge of the world. Picture this: You're strapped into the left seat of a heavy jet, engines humming their deep, endless lullaby at 39,000 feet. Outside the cockpit windows, it's pure velvet blackness—inky ocean below, stars so sharp they could cut glass above. When you catch a glimpse of the sea, it’s violently churning and you know you could never survive a ditching in that. The North Atlantic at night feels like flying through God's own inkwell. No cities. No ships. Just you, your crew, and the quiet roar of 300 souls trusting you to keep the metal tube steady. Then it happens. The horizon starts to betray you. A faint, electric indigo bleeds into the east, slowly turning to molten rose, then furious tangerine. You’ve been flying west-to-east, chasing the dawn like it owes you money. And suddenly—BOOM! The sun cracks the rim of the planet like a golden sledgehammer. It doesn’t rise gently. It *attacks*. Rays slice straight through the windshield, turning every droplet on the glass into a thousand tiny lasers aimed directly at your eyeballs. Your Ray-Bans are somewhere in your flight bag, useless now. You’re squinting, half-blinded, tears streaming while the whole sky explodes in violent pinks, fiery oranges, and that impossible, heart-stopping blue that only exists at 40,000 feet. For a few glorious, painful minutes, you’re not just a pilot—you’re Icarus who actually made it, bathing in liquid sunrise while the Atlantic sparkles 7 miles below like scattered diamonds. The fatigue melts. The night vanishes. And for one brief, brilliant moment, the entire planet feels like it’s waking up just for you. Then you reach up, yank the sun visor down, and mutter the sacred pilot prayer: “Coffee. Now!” #NorthAtlantic #SunriseFromTheFlightDeck #AviationLife #CockpitViews

@RGRyan777 Went many times!

I grew up in a small town on the central coast of California. Agricultural community. Population around 9000 during my childhood. My little Ozark Mountain grandma and I would board our one and only, tiny city bus and go downtown to Woolworths a couple of times a month. We would sit at the lunch counter and I’d order a hamburger with mustard only and she would get a BLT. One of my most cherished memories of childhood. Anybody else remember going to Woolworths?

@RGRyan777 Nope

I don’t listen to any podcasts. Not. A. Single. One. Anyone else?

@RGRyan777 My '05 Dodge p/u is power-nothing-equipped.

Anybody old enough to remember what this is for?

@CynicalPublius You are 100 percent correct, however I'm sure you know VA math is different from math we learned in school when it comes to ratings!

Somehow there is an X debate going on right now about VA disability ratings. I'm hearing some idiots saying if it's not from a combat wound, you should not get a disability rating. To which I rebut with the following; 20+ years of: -12 mile ruck marches. -5k/10k/10 mile/every other distance runs. -Parachute landing falls. -Obstacle and confidence courses. -Vehicle rollovers. -Helicopter hard landings. -Heat injuries/cold injuries. -Anthrax shots, COVID shots, all other kinds of shots. -"Here, take some Motrin, you'll be fine." -Weeks/Months/Years of high stress and little sleep. -Extended periods of poor nutrition. -Weird diseases you can only get in places like Afghanistan or Korea. -Burn pits. -All other manner of training injuries. -Never telling anybody you are injured because if you do they might pull you from that leadership position you fought so hard to earn. You do all that for 20+ years, your body will be torn up, I promise. The US military is a physically demanding place, no matter what your branch of service or MOS. Training accidents happen routinely. People die in peacetime accidents, routinely. The idea that a VA disability rating should only come from something that also earns a Purple Heart is nonsense. If anything, our warriors are consistently denied VA disability ratings for what are clearly service-connected ailments.

@SoldiersWhisper Welcome home!

We were married three months before I got my Nam orders. I came home Oct. 31st 69 to a 'baby killer' comment from a young idiot. My wife and parents met me, took me to a Home I'd never been to before. My wife got an apartment, furnished it, all ready for me. Every Oct 31st, I take her out to dinner at the finest restaurant. That was MY welcome home.. This Oct will make the 56th dinner. All you Woke kids...That is called Commitment. Viet Vets know about it. #TheVietnamWar

@RGRyan777 Made unmistakable noise when parking at a curb!

Anybody old enough to remember what this was used for?

@themaddierune Very nice!

You were always going to be this person. The one who writes too much, notices too much, reads too much, feels everything, and asks questions nobody wants to answer. The one who never learned to want less. Who couldn’t make themselves smaller no matter how many times they were asked. That is not a flaw, that is a self that refused to be argued out of existence. The only tragedy would have been succeeding. Talking yourself all the way down into something manageable and quiet and safe and half alive. But you didn’t. Do you understand what that means? Do you understand how many people never made it back to themselves? You did. Don’t you dare make yourself small again.

@sweetcarolinatv That sky - great photo!

Sometime I don’t feel like dealing with the world. I’m finally feeling comfortable in my house, after 3 months of living on a bed. It’s nice to have furniture again. I like cozying up on my comfy couch. The only problem; it gives me a lot of time to think about Larry. I try to keep myself busy all the time. Maybe that’s not such a good thing. Grieving is an important thing to do, otherwise the built up pain comes out in other ways. Like drinking too much or avoiding getting close to others. Isolating and falling into depression. Grief is different from depression. Grief is a natural part of living. Depression is from avoiding dealing with issues deep inside. Grief comes and goes in waves. Depression is a constant burden to bear. Writing about Larry’s life brings tears to my eyes but it also makes me joyful and proud. He had no fear of death. He just wanted to live long enough to be an inspiration to our Bible study, church, family, and friends. He lived a “purpose driven life.” He put Jesus above all else. Now I get to share his faith with others-such a blessing Thank you for reading this post and for all your prayers. You are helping me to overcome my grief. God bless you.

@BadgedPatriot Great work!

An elderly woman had her pain medicine stolen by her grandson. She only called 911 because after days of suffering she finally had to call for an ambulance. When she made the spontaneous utterance that her grandson stole her prescription I got his name, went to his job, searched his car based on probable cause the medicine was inside (based on other information I received), recovered 6 of 30 pills that were in the bottle, placed him under arrest, & released the 6 pills back to his grandmother until she can get with her doctor to hopefully get a new prescription on Monday. I have ZERO TOLERANCE for victimizing the elderly, handicapped, women or kids.🤨👮‍♂️🚔

@RGRyan777 @debjshaw @alexconnorwrite @ampomata @ChrisPopeWrites @DrKristieLeong I was considered "old" at 23 when I arrived in Phu Loi March of '68. Drafted previous May before the lottery numbers.

@debjshaw @alexconnorwrite @ampomata @ChrisPopeWrites @DrKristieLeong We were all just kids, Deb. I was 20 years old the year of my selective service. I felt like I was one of the older ones. I lost so many of my high school classmates in that stupid, undeclared war

I do miss Larry, however I am proud to say I found some of his images from Vietnam, 1966 in the Library of Congress. He was a talented photographer trying to capture a war. Just a kid! @alexconnorwrite @ampomata @ChrisPopeWrites @DrKristieLeong @RGRyan777

@BadgedPatriot Dispatch should have told him it is not a police matter.

Call just now on radio: "Be enroute to xxxx restaurant & meet with a man named Bill. He wants to speak to an officer about the restaurant not having adequate seating for heavy people & wants to know what his options are". Glad that gem of a call isn't in my zone👮‍♂️🚔😏

@RGRyan777 L. to R.-- Dimmer switch, clutch, brake, gas, starter.

Left to right, can you identify what all these pedals do? Bonus points if you have driven a vehicle that has all of them.

@ThrillaRilla369 We called Jukebox Shifter.

@RGRyan777 I like it!

My new single drops today. “On and On” is one of my favorite songs I have ever written and recorded. Links below.

@RondaWellsBooks @RGRyan777 They are not far from Blue Ball, PA

@RGRyan777 No joke -- in Amish country near Lancaster, PA where the movie "Witness' was filmed are Intercourse, Bird in Hand, and Paradise.

12 American cities with incredibly strange names: Bacon Level, AL Hell for Certain, KY Licking, MO Truth or Consequences, NM Boogertown, NC Knockemstiff, OH Boring, OR Cut and Shoot, Texas Toad Suck, Arkansas Coward, South Carolina Hot Coffee, Mississippi Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida

@RGRyan777 Aaaand....Tightsqueeze, VA deserves honorable mention.

@RGRyan777 @lippyent Saw a lot of Hamms in 'Nam!

@lippyent Hamm’s. “From the land of sky-blue waters…”

Hmm 😒 🤔?¿

@RGRyan777 😂😂

Those of you who have yet to arrive at your senior years, have no capacity to comprehend the utter thrill of opening a brand new package of dish sponges. I mean, they are all so plump and fresh and clean. I’m telling you, it almost makes me giddy with excitement.

@maddierune Excellent! Powerful 1st graph!

I wrote something today. First, some of you may know that in 2017 I had a stillborn son. His name was Rune and I write under that name for a reason. Today I tried to articulate something I've carried for a very long time. What it felt like to be in that room, what I imagined the other mothers felt through the wall, the strange, violent, sacred collision of life and death happening simultaneously, in the same hallway, on the same night. I played with point of view intentionally...moving between her and you and everyone, to make it feel less like a personal story and more like a myth. Because that's what it became for me over time. Something ancient, something that has always been happening and will keep happening long after I'm gone. Rune deserved a piece as beautiful as he was. I think this might be it. I'd love for you to take some time to read it.