TM & Michelle Married In-Country

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Miss Q · #1 Post by **Miss Q** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:49 pm

I have no idea why I started thinking about this.....

When TM an Michelle were married in Vietnam how did they live??? It was during the war so it's not like he lived with Michelle and just drove to work each day...

Best guess would be he just visited when he could???? Based on the time frame it was only for a few months before the fall of Siagon.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me???

IKnowWhatYoureThinking · Mon Jun 02, 2008 6:21 pm

I really don't remember them addressing the issue, but I would imagine she would've been in Saigon, and he could just see her whenever.

JonnyDaytona · #3 Post by **JonnyDaytona** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:57 pm

That would certainly not be the first time a soldier fell in love with a local girl and got married. I imagine he was planning on sending her to the mainland, otherwise how would his mother have known who Michelle was? (as referenced in 'infinity and Jelly Doughnuts')

IslandHopper · #4 Post by **IslandHopper** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:45 pm

This is a tough one, because this is an area the writers didn't really elaborate on very much. I don't think it was ever revealed where Michelle lived before or after she and Magnum got married. I always assumed Saigon, but it could have been any number of cities. I assumed that since Magnum was a combatant (SEAL) and not support personnel stationed in or around Saigon, he must have just visited her when he got the chance.

This question also raises another question of when Magnum served his 3 tours in Vietnam. Magnum said that he spent 3 tours of duty in Vietnam (13 months each). In "Missing In Action" he said he left for Vietnam on July 15, 1967. If Magnum's tours of duty in Vietnam were consecutive then his service in 'Nam would have looked something like this:

First Tour: July 1967 through August 1968;
Second Tour: August 1968 through September 1969;
Third Tour: September 1969 through October 1970.

I was always under the impression that Magnum served the 3 tours (39 months) consecutively, however, I also thought that he married Michelle a short time (days or weeks) before Michelle's supposed death in 1975. Considering that Michelle's death wasn't faked until April 30, 1975, it looks like Magnum's tours of duty may have been split up and were not consecutive. How many tours did he serve with Rick and TC? If Magnum's tours were not consecutive then he most likely did not spend all 3 tours with Rick and TC.

According to Michelle, we know Magnum was in Vietnam on April 30, 1975 (fall of Saigon), because Michelle's death was faked after she learned her husband (General Hue) was still alive, and she and Buck Greene faked her death because Magnum wouldn't have left Vietnam otherwise.

I know there are some inconsistencies regarding the actual date when Magnum left for Vietnam (1967 vs. 1968), but I always went with the July 15, 1967 date since this was the first date given during the series and just considered the other dates given in later episodes to have been flubs since the 1967 date was established so early on in season 1 (Missing in Action).

Miss Q · #5 Post by **Miss Q** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:42 pm

I am enclined to believe that his tours were consecutively servered and that the writers simply forgot they had already set a time line. This way the bond is greater with Rick and TC.

This wouldn't be the first time the writers did this.... in early episodes
TM states his mothers name is Martha, yet when the character actually emerged the name changed.... TC states he would never have kids and then his ex shows up with 2....

JonnyDaytona · #6 Post by **JonnyDaytona** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:34 pm

Miss Q wrote:I am enclined to believe that his tours were consecutively servered and that the writers simply forgot they had already set a time line. This way the bond is greater with Rick and TC.

This wouldn't be the first time the writers did this.... in early episodes
TM states his mothers name is Martha, yet when the character actually emerged the name changed.... TC states he would never have kids and then his ex shows up with 2....

Just a few of the things I try not to let bother me! ha ha. And here is another thought from 'Infinity and jelly Donuts' Higgins immediately knows who Magnum's mother is and adresses her by her first name! (as though the had met) It seems out of sorts for him to call a stranger in that manner..... her reply is 'You must be Mr. Higgins' or something....

Carmen · #7 Post by **Carmen** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:13 am

Just a few of the things I try not to let bother me! ha ha. And here is another thought from 'Infinity and jelly Donuts' Higgins immediately knows who Magnum's mother is and adresses her by her first name! (as though the had met) It seems out of sorts for him to call a stranger in that manner..... her reply is 'You must be Mr. Higgins' or something....

that may be cause of the circumstances, JD. Higgins and Magnums mother had some phone calls together (in "Forty" he told Magnum his mother called and as I remember Higgins called her in "Inf. and..." to tell her about her son) and maybe he simply forgot her last name, knewing it wasn`t Magnum.

N1095A · #8 Post by **N1095A** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:39 pm

Remember thar Rick was not with the team in the prison camp. He joined the team replacing 'Cookie" who was shot by Ivan.

IslandHopper · #9 Post by **IslandHopper** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:54 pm

N1095A wrote:Remember thar Rick was not with the team in the prison camp. He joined the team replacing 'Cookie" who was shot by Ivan.

Your right N. That's one of the reasons why I wasn't sure if Magnum served his tours of duty consecutively or split up. Rick also said he served 3 tours in 'Nam, so there was a time when he wasn't with Magnum. But how long? I don't think TC mentioned how many tours he served. Maybe just one tour?

N1095A · #10 Post by **N1095A** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:15 am

I always got the feeling that Rick and TC weren't part of every mission with TM. Being of different services, I'm sure his air crews would rotate for insertions and extractions. This would account for the times there were flashback scenes that involved TC but not TM. I'm still trying to fully figure out the VMO2 logic within the MPI universe. In reality VMO2 was a fixed wing squadron that flew the OV-10 Bronco.

IslandHopper · #11 Post by **IslandHopper** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:09 am

I read some where that while in Vietnam, VMO-2 also flew UH-1Es (Huey) and AH-1 Cobras. This would fit with TC's history.

Carmen · #12 Post by **Carmen** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:26 am

In "All for one" TM tells Higgins Rick joined them late 69, he said something like "me, TC and Eddie Miller (who was killed at Cam Ly) were buddies, but Rick wasn`t here very long"

Sam · #13 Post by **Sam** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:35 pm

You are correct IH.

.
Here is a history of the VMO-2 deployment in Vietnam.

http://www.angelfire.com/va/cherrydeuce/History.html

lutherhgillis · #14 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:00 pm

Continuing with the train of thought, how did Michelle get to meet TM in the first place. As wife of Hue, even though she thought he was dead, it is hard for me to believe that she would end up as a nurse on the allied side. However, she no loyalty to the VC so I suppose she bolted from the red side to get to the allied hospital where she worked. Any thoughts?

Wouldn't there have been a price on her head? Wouldn't this hve made it impossible for her to return to Hue after finding him to be alive?

Thanks,
Luther