Memories of Soldiers

The reason I was gone overnight after the Country Living Fair was because I continued on to Cincinnati to attend a reunion of the Military Police battalion my older brother was with in Vietnam.


He was killed in a car wreck shortly after returning from Vietnam and years later I tracked down some of his buddies from Nam. My brother was a very proud MP and I knew he would have stayed in touch with his old friends. I paid his lifetime dues to his group and they made me an honorary Dragon Fighter. The Blog Tech and his sister heard many stories about my big brother over the years and this was chance for The Blog Tech to meet my brothers peers. I have no actual photos from the reunion but the 2nd largest Oktoberfest was being held right in front of our hotel, so I am just showing some pics of it.

Unfortunately, only one of my brother's old buddies attended, but I was so happy to finally meet him. He had lots of stories to tell and I had all of the photos my brother took of Quan Tri, the area where he was stationed. There were other guys who had been in Quan Tri at different times than my brother and they were very interested in seeing all of the pics.


We only stayed one night which was a shame because we missed meeting lots of the other MP's. Next time we will stay the whole time.


I've missed my brother a lot over all the years and this was about as close as I was able to get to him again. It's the closed The Blog Tech would ever get to him too. The BT was so impressed with the music memories these guys had. My brother's buddy had met Roy Orbison which knocked The Blog Tech's socks off!



It made me very proud to meet this group which served our country so proudly in a horrible war to return home and be treated the way they were. Times have changed so much for our military. My path crossed with another blogger at The Country Living Fair who has just had a very sad experience. She wrote about it so eloquently that I thought you might want to read about it. She has several posts about it so I will link you to one and then if you are interested you can read the others. It is a wonderful American story.
http://thescrappyappleyard.blogspot.com/2011/09/fallen-soldier.html

No matter what any of us feel about war, we all should be proud and thankful for those that go off to war to protect us.

Comments

What a wonderful post today my friend. You are a great sister. Your brother would be so proud of you and the Blog Tech.
brokenteepee said…
It was wonderful you could meet an old friend of your brothers. My mother lost her only brother in Viet Nam. He was a marine.
what a lovely tribute to your brother today...

it's so nice that you went to the reunion... beverly is right...your brother would be proud....
Somehow, I feel your brother knows of these reunions and your honorary status.

A precious and loving tribute.

Good job.
Anonymous said…
What a nice thing to do! Your brother would be proud of You!

Christer.
Robin Larkspur said…
It was horrific the way the populace treated our returning Viet Nam troops and my heart goes out to you for the loss of your big brother. I was very moved by your tribute to him last Memorial Day. How great to meet up with his buddy and share the experience with the BT. There are many soldiers smiling down at you from above! Hugs and blessings to you, Joyce.
What a wonderful way to remember your brother and to honor him. I am that generation also and it was so sad how badly this country treated its soldiers. The politicians ran that war...well enough of that. My Dad was career military and in Viet Nam and I had many friends there also.
Anonymous said…
theres many reasons I read your blog everyday for the last few years,, todays post is perfect example,, you are a good person,, what a wonderful tribute to your brother,, you're proud of him and he would be so very proud of you, I agree with your statement, some might not agree with war but we all should be so proud of men and woman, who protect us all,
Marigold said…
A wonderful post. Thank you!
TARYTERRE said…
Beautifully said. What a wonderful way to keep your brother's memory alive throughout the years.
trump said…
A touching post from your heart, your brother would be very proud of you. Richard
Barb said…
I wish your brother was still here so we could thank him for his service. I am so sad for the way the Viet Nam vets were treated. I can't imagine the pain so many of them and their families went through.Since I'm a Mom of Iraq war vets( son and daughter-in-law) I have thought so much about the Moms and families of those soldiers. Thank you so much for the sacrifice your family made.
Keeping ties with your brother's battalion is a wonderful tribute to his memory.
H.A. Blackthorn said…
So sorry for your loss, but glad you were able to attend. My best friend, who passed away a few years ago at a young age, was in the Navy, and loved it,so I've got nothing but respect for our military. So many of them work so hard, or give up their lives, and don't get the recognition they deserve. I'm glad you were able to attend, and feel close to your brother again.
Tony Sills said…
Joyce, we all loved having you and Brendan at the Reunion and I hope next year you will be able to attend the Banquet.

Brendan and your name were mentioned many times during our Reunion and know all would love to see you guys each year. I know I would love to have you there.

Billy and I became close and were together 24/7 for over 6 months. I just know this Reunion would be a big event for Billy. I so hate his life was taken away so early and especially after all we went through. I lost a dear friend and you guys are special.

Thanks to all the kind words in this column for Veterans of Vietnam and other wars everywhere.

Tony Sills