Kurt, The Vietnam Vet Guy - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Thiussat · 04-02-2007, 02:44 PM

I saw this episode on LRW again. I had seen it before but forgotten the details. I know many of you think the segment is laughable.

First off, I think the notion that the guy was partaking in secret missions is ridiculous. As the Marine Corps guy said in the segment, people who are 19, not officers, and have no special training, are not selected for secret, clandestine missions (This is what the Army SF and Force Recon Marines are for). I agree with the Marine Corps spokesman, as I know what he said to be a fact. 19 year olds are just not selected for this stuff. You almost definitely would have to be an officer to be engaged in something like this, and Kurt was just an enlisted grunt.

The pictures the family saw, that they identified as Kurt, are obviously not him. The Marine Corps guy said that all people in all pictures had been identified and had been spoken to. I see no reason for him to lie about that. Also, the fact that the family claims to have seen photos of Kurt with his unit a full year after he supposedly died makes their entire story suspect. What I mean is, if the Marines had faked his death, why would they assign him to another regular unit that took pictures and then had them published in a magazine? Covert units don't pose for pictures and then have them published in the public domain.

The fact that the government had listed Kurt dead on 3 or 4 different dates really doesn't mean anything other than that their records are imperfect. A lot of people died over there, and I would bet this is not the only mistake the government had made in this regard.

One man is not that important. What I mean is, I don't think the government would waste resources on having DOD agents follow the father around because of something Kurt did in Vietnam decades earlier. I certainly don't think they would have agents follow a COUSIN to work. I also think it would be impossible for the agents to know if the cousin ran a credit check on Kurt. How is this possible? Were these agents professional computer crackers too? Did they have a laptop (remember this was the 80's) in their car? This seems like a huge waste of resources in order to track the family of ONE man.

The sister claims she was told by an anonymous source that Kurt was indeed living in the U.S., but was a "dangerous and disturbed man." The source made it sound like Kurt was out of control. If this was true, then the government certainly would not have such a loose canon working for them on covert operartions. (Remember the sister proclaimed that Kurt was STILL on covert assignments even after he got back from 'Nam.) I find this highly unlikely.

The sister claims to have seen Kurt in a red car on two occasions. I don't deny she saw this red car, but why would Kurt play such a game? Why not just walk up to her and say "Hey, this is Kurt." Also, the segment said she ran the license plate and it belonged to a guy who was not Kurt.

The father claims he had agents follow him around trying to get him to sign papers that changed Kurt's status from missing to KIA. If the government was involved in a cover-up, then WHY would they need the father's signature at all? Why not just change it themselves? This was a corny part of the segment.

I cannot say that Kurt was not alive and living in the U.S., but IF he was (and that's a big if), I don't think it was because he was involved in secret missions. It could be that he was just a disturbed man suffering from PTSD who never wanted contact with his family.

My dad was a Vietnam vet in the Army First Cav Airmobile. He was in some heavy, heavy combat in 1967. After he died a few years ago, I did some research on his days in 'Nam and found several photographs of guys that looked just like him. After seeing what units these guys were in, I was able to verify they were NOT him. My point is, it is easy to get confused when looking at photos, even if it is a close family member.

RightOnDude · 04-02-2007, 04:20 PM

I agree. The guy that really cracks me up is the one who hid in the dark during his interview and said he ran checks on Kurt's social security number and credit history while on the job (a HUGE no no in that field to begin with), then had a guy ram a gun into his side as he left the office. This is the same tough guy who went up to the "agents" who were following him every day and said, "Hey guys I'm going to the gym, you can follow me there" ... yet he is afraid to appear on camera on UM during his interview segment. Also, Kurt's sister, who's own kids weren't afraid to approach "Kurt" at the Vietnam memorial, was too terrified to approach him because he was a "loose canon" yet has no problem calling him out on a national TV show ... wouldn't you think that kind of exposure might jeapordize his "secret mission" he was on? I feel sorry for this family and their loss (because come on, Kurt is long gone) but this segment went on WAAAAY too long for what was obviously a non-case.

baton_man · 04-02-2007, 04:34 PM

I agree 100%. I cannot buy the covert thing either. The sister comes off like she has some screws lose.

DP1 · 04-02-2007, 10:51 PM

Yeah, I think the family is just seeing what they want to see. I feel sorry for them, don't get me wrong. But the Marines took the rare step of actually appearing on UM (something that rarely happened) to refute their claims.

04-02-2007, 02:44 PM	#1
Thiussat Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 09, 2007 Posts: 601	Kurt, The Vietnam Vet Guy I saw this episode on LRW again. I had seen it before but forgotten the details. I know many of you think the segment is laughable. First off, I think the notion that the guy was partaking in secret missions is ridiculous. As the Marine Corps guy said in the segment, people who are 19, not officers, and have no special training, are not selected for secret, clandestine missions (This is what the Army SF and Force Recon Marines are for). I agree with the Marine Corps spokesman, as I know what he said to be a fact. 19 year olds are just not selected for this stuff. You almost definitely would have to be an officer to be engaged in something like this, and Kurt was just an enlisted grunt. The pictures the family saw, that they identified as Kurt, are obviously not him. The Marine Corps guy said that all people in all pictures had been identified and had been spoken to. I see no reason for him to lie about that. Also, the fact that the family claims to have seen photos of Kurt with his unit a full year after he supposedly died makes their entire story suspect. What I mean is, if the Marines had faked his death, why would they assign him to another regular unit that took pictures and then had them published in a magazine? Covert units don't pose for pictures and then have them published in the public domain. The fact that the government had listed Kurt dead on 3 or 4 different dates really doesn't mean anything other than that their records are imperfect. A lot of people died over there, and I would bet this is not the only mistake the government had made in this regard. One man is not that important. What I mean is, I don't think the government would waste resources on having DOD agents follow the father around because of something Kurt did in Vietnam decades earlier. I certainly don't think they would have agents follow a COUSIN to work. I also think it would be impossible for the agents to know if the cousin ran a credit check on Kurt. How is this possible? Were these agents professional computer crackers too? Did they have a laptop (remember this was the 80's) in their car? This seems like a huge waste of resources in order to track the family of ONE man. The sister claims she was told by an anonymous source that Kurt was indeed living in the U.S., but was a "dangerous and disturbed man." The source made it sound like Kurt was out of control. If this was true, then the government certainly would not have such a loose canon working for them on covert operartions. (Remember the sister proclaimed that Kurt was STILL on covert assignments even after he got back from 'Nam.) I find this highly unlikely. The sister claims to have seen Kurt in a red car on two occasions. I don't deny she saw this red car, but why would Kurt play such a game? Why not just walk up to her and say "Hey, this is Kurt." Also, the segment said she ran the license plate and it belonged to a guy who was not Kurt. The father claims he had agents follow him around trying to get him to sign papers that changed Kurt's status from missing to KIA. If the government was involved in a cover-up, then WHY would they need the father's signature at all? Why not just change it themselves? This was a corny part of the segment. I cannot say that Kurt was not alive and living in the U.S., but IF he was (and that's a big if), I don't think it was because he was involved in secret missions. It could be that he was just a disturbed man suffering from PTSD who never wanted contact with his family. My dad was a Vietnam vet in the Army First Cav Airmobile. He was in some heavy, heavy combat in 1967. After he died a few years ago, I did some research on his days in 'Nam and found several photographs of guys that looked just like him. After seeing what units these guys were in, I was able to verify they were NOT him. My point is, it is easy to get confused when looking at photos, even if it is a close family member.
	Last edited by Thiussat; 04-25-2007 at 02:19 AM.

04-02-2007, 04:20 PM	#2
RightOnDude Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 12, 2005 Posts: 266	I agree. The guy that really cracks me up is the one who hid in the dark during his interview and said he ran checks on Kurt's social security number and credit history while on the job (a HUGE no no in that field to begin with), then had a guy ram a gun into his side as he left the office. This is the same tough guy who went up to the "agents" who were following him every day and said, "Hey guys I'm going to the gym, you can follow me there" ... yet he is afraid to appear on camera on UM during his interview segment. Also, Kurt's sister, who's own kids weren't afraid to approach "Kurt" at the Vietnam memorial, was too terrified to approach him because he was a "loose canon" yet has no problem calling him out on a national TV show ... wouldn't you think that kind of exposure might jeapordize his "secret mission" he was on? I feel sorry for this family and their loss (because come on, Kurt is long gone) but this segment went on WAAAAY too long for what was obviously a non-case.

04-02-2007, 04:34 PM	#3
baton_man Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 27, 2006 Location: maryland Posts: 68	I agree 100%. I cannot buy the covert thing either. The sister comes off like she has some screws lose.

04-02-2007, 10:51 PM	#4
DP1 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 21, 2004 Posts: 394	Yeah, I think the family is just seeing what they want to see. I feel sorry for them, don't get me wrong. But the Marines took the rare step of actually appearing on UM (something that rarely happened) to refute their claims.