Wayne Co., IL Researchers Happy Memorial Day to you all! I am sending a letter that a high school friend sent, it is a letter written home by a solider. Please take the time out to remember our vets, regardless to the war they served, lived and died for us, and for those serving us now in the middle east. I did not change the spelling, it is as he wrote it. I hope someone will enjoy it as I do. Don't forget to hang your flags!! Thanks! Dianna Wayne Co., IL Coordinator: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilwayne Yahoo Voice Chat id = d1anna46 AOL-IM id = dlwillie 1 ============ A letter home ============== Dearest Kathy (in the Swamp), You're right; camping in my Aliner is a far cry from what I experienced in the Army. There, my camping equipment consisted of a D-ringed shovel and a pile of sandbags. We dug a hole, lined it with sandbags, placed PSP (perforated steel plating--used for construction of air strips) over the hole, and then placed more sandbags on top, of course leaving spaces for an entrance in the back and firing positions in the front. We slept on the bare soil at the bottom of the bunker. On ambush patrols or listening posts, we slept on the ground wherever we happened to be. And it was like you inferred a few messages ago: once asleep, we became Purina Mosquito Chow. No, Aliner camping is quite luxurious in comparison. But where'd you get the idea that we have a dishwasher? Actually, we have about everything but. To be perfectly honest (lie), I bought the Aliner because it's the closest RV (recreational vehicle) in size to my trusty ole M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. I just have trouble finding the hatch that leads up to the .50 caliber machine gun on top. Switching gears: On a very rare serious note--Memorial Day is almost here. This holiday is intended to remember those who have fallen in battle while serving our country. Here are a few from my platoon: Anderson Turner, age 32. He was my squad leader, a sergeant, and was the first American I watched die. Two weeks after I joined the company, he was attempting to blow up an unexploded mortar round, that we found while on patrol, with a Ci-com (Chinese-communist) hand grenade when the grenade went off. Bernard Mattson, age 20, from Peoria. We called him Matt. He was the first of my friends to die. A small piece of shrapnel entered his left side, piercing his heart during a mortar attack. Twenty years after his death, I called his parents and spoke with his mom. She thanked me repeatedly for calling--they always pictured him alone in Vietnam, with no friends. I assured her that he was among people who cared for him, and that he did not suffer. Ralph Williams, age 27. He was my platoon leader, a lieutenant. He died after being wounded by a rifle round in one of his legs while searching a hootch (one-room building). His initial wound was not mortal; he was attempting mark an enemy position for an aerial attack with a purple smoke grenade and was killed by a satchel charge (explosive device) tossed into the hootch by enemy soldiers. Four others from my platoon also died in the same hootch. Last year, his son Jeff found me through my book. He was born three months after his father's death, and had been looking for someone who had served with him most of his life. My book provided his first link. His letter began, "I never thought that when the time had come to be able to talk with someone who served with my dad, Ralph Williams, that I'd be at a loss for words." I've since put him in contact with his dad's commanding officer and a friend who carried the radio for him. Both told him that his dad was an excellent soldier, and that he should be proud of him. Kellum (Kelly) Grant, age 20. He was scheduled to leave our company the next day; this would have been his last battle. I carry a piece of shrapnel in my chin from the recoilless rifle (bazooka) round that hit him in the chest, killing him instantly. Of course, there are a lot more. I will remember these men--fourteen in all--on Memorial Day, as I've done each year since coming home in 1968. Roger the camper

This weekend or Veterans Day may be a good time to interview the veteran in your family and let them know how much you appreciate their service to their country. Do you know where they trained and when? Did they go overseas and if so when and from where and to where? Do you really know where they were stationed and when and what they did while they were there? Have you seen these places on a map? Do you know names of their friends and buddies while in service? Are there any photos of any of the places taken by your veteran? Do you know what it was like to spend Christmas overseas and have Christmas dinner in a Mess Hall? There is no one else who will have the memories that they have and there may be no better time for you to hear and record them in some way. Dot