Post by adriancronauer on Aug 3, 2009 22:07:38 GMT
Actor Robin Williams didn't have it quite right in the movie when he declared, "Good Morning, Vietnaaaam," Adrian Cronauer said during the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce Morning Call Tuesday morning.
Cronauer, the radio announcer who co-wrote the book and was the inspiration for the movie, said the stress should be on the word "Good." He demonstrated the technique he used for holding the "Gooooooooood" as long as possible while he rushed into the studio, pulling records, finding his headphones and popping in his contacts before completing the greeting that came each morning at 6:05 in Vietnam.
Now Cronauer serves as special assistant to the director of the Department of Defense's POW/MIA Personnel Office in Arlington, Va. He travels the world in support of the efforts to locate and bring home the remains of the 88,000 members of the armed services who are still missing in action.
They are successful in that mission about 100 times a year.
Brig. Gen. Richard Moss from Keesler's 403rd Wing heard Cronauer speak in Washington, D.C., and invited him to the Coast. Cronauer also addressed the Air Force Reserve and students at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Jeff Davis campus.
He recalled being told at Air Force boot camp, "The military takes care of its own," moving heaven and earth to find a downed or captured airman and never giving up the search. "That is a promise that your government makes to you." At the POW/MIA office, he said, "We are engaged in an effort that sadly will never end."
The agency's most important mission is to find and identify the remains of those who died in combat and return them to their families. About 78,000 of the 88,000 MIAs are from World War II, and Cronauer said one person is still missing from the first Gulf War and three from the current campaign.
In the 60's
Present Day
Cronauer, the radio announcer who co-wrote the book and was the inspiration for the movie, said the stress should be on the word "Good." He demonstrated the technique he used for holding the "Gooooooooood" as long as possible while he rushed into the studio, pulling records, finding his headphones and popping in his contacts before completing the greeting that came each morning at 6:05 in Vietnam.
Now Cronauer serves as special assistant to the director of the Department of Defense's POW/MIA Personnel Office in Arlington, Va. He travels the world in support of the efforts to locate and bring home the remains of the 88,000 members of the armed services who are still missing in action.
They are successful in that mission about 100 times a year.
Brig. Gen. Richard Moss from Keesler's 403rd Wing heard Cronauer speak in Washington, D.C., and invited him to the Coast. Cronauer also addressed the Air Force Reserve and students at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Jeff Davis campus.
He recalled being told at Air Force boot camp, "The military takes care of its own," moving heaven and earth to find a downed or captured airman and never giving up the search. "That is a promise that your government makes to you." At the POW/MIA office, he said, "We are engaged in an effort that sadly will never end."
The agency's most important mission is to find and identify the remains of those who died in combat and return them to their families. About 78,000 of the 88,000 MIAs are from World War II, and Cronauer said one person is still missing from the first Gulf War and three from the current campaign.
In the 60's
Present Day
