Hey, Lew, great thread and story. I was never in the military so can only guess what it was like. Hooking up with an old friend like that is priceless. Keep us informed and thanks for sharing!
Remembering an Old Friend
by DakotaRed 23 Replies latest jw friends
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songmistress
Lew:
I just love a man in uniform. LOL
Seriously tho', you are so right that love like that cannot be found among "Jehovah's people". True brotherly love is based on what is inside a person. I actually do not know what it is like to have such a deep friendship since all my friendships till now have been situational and transient. I live in hope that even tho I experience it vicariously through others, maybe someday, I will have that type of experience. After meeting you the other night, I would agree that you are a very cool guy.
Oh crap, now I am crying. Oh well. Thanks for sharing Lew.
See ya later
Cheryl
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DakotaRed
Dede, Rueben, thank you. Even after this many years, your words bring a smile to my face. Each person that served was affected differently and each seems to handle it differently. Had I to do it all over again, I would imagine I would do the same. I don't regret serving, but I regret the loss of life and how it ended up.
From many I talk too, the worst part wasn't so much the war itself, but the treatment upon returning home. Many people don't want to acknowledge that, however. It wasn't as unique to Vietnam as we think, though. Each war had people that seemed to fear the returning veterans as well as those that lied about their status for personal gain.
Cheryl, I would loan your husband my uniform, but I don't have it anymore. My first wife decided I didn't need them anymore and donated them to the Salvation Army one day. I didn't find out about it until weeks later. I kept my dress greens set up as if for inspection, complete with all my ribbons, stripes, hash marks, brass and all. Sure wish she would have asked me first.
Meeting you the other night was definitely fun, though. You are such a fun person to be around. Next time, I hope your hubby comes along.
To everyone, you don't know how much your reponses mean to me. With another war looming on the horizon, knowing that there are so many people that do care about the men, and now women, who will serve gives me hope they will return to a country more grateful than the one I returned to.
Lew W
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Guest 77
Are you lucky or what? A great feeling must of went through you when you received a mail from a friend. I really can't say I had such a friend in the org. I've told the following story a few times about a witness friend who left for twenty or so years and I always stayed in touch with him. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, he doesn't call me but I still do, go figure. Nice to have a warm heart, right?
Guest 77
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freedom96
Great story, very happy for you!
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ugg
precious,,,,,,thank you for sharing...
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MegaDude
Great post, Lew.
I read the non-fiction book "Chickenhawk" a few years ago and have a small idea of some of the unbelievable risk and sh*t you guys went through in the Air Cav. Glad out of all that mess you got something good out of it.
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Valis
Dakota...I'm sure you've seen this, but just in case..I really miss my grandfather who would always tell me war stories..thanks for this post..
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
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TorturedSoul
Thank you Lew I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
so young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free!
I heard the sound of Taps one night,
when everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
and felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
that Taps had meant "Amen,"
when a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
of the mothers and the wives,
of the fathers, sons, and husbands
with interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
at the bottom of the sea,
of unmarked graves in Arlington..
No, Freedom isn't Free. -
DakotaRed
Valis, that is the veterans site I keep mentioning that I belong too. Although a pretty big site, back during the days we were in country, we were one of those that you never heard much about, but accomplished what we were sent to do. It was well rumored that each of us had a bounty on our heads simply due to the unit patch we wore.
Ron, Mega, Ugg, Freedom and any I missed, thank you very much. Your kind words are very appreciated.
Lew W