Friday morning @ 8 a.m. I picked up Skip at the Hampton Inn on Shallowford rd. There was some serious hugging and smiling happening. We left there and drove 5 hours to Florence Ky. I have never had five hours go by so fast.
Just as we walked into the hotel lobby there stood Jack and Sam at the front desk. We were grinning, hugging, laughing and crying all at the same time. We are a band of brothers bonded together for all time. We stayed up until 3 a.m. Friday night reminicing about the Vietnam days. As we poured over dozens of photos we were not able to keep the overwhelming emotions at bay. 36 years worth of grief, fear, resentment etc. came out and we were not able to hold back the tears. Then on Staurday night we did a repeat of Firday night. I never knew what I had meant to those three guys nor just how much they meant to me....I know now. Memories that we had buried long ago popped up in our conversations. When the painful memories surfaced we were saddened. We grieved for our fallen brothers in arms and got angry about the way that war was handled by the politicians. Too many young men died or had shattered lives because of the political stupidity.
This was truly a blessed weekend for us. IN the picture from left to right is Sam Pitts, Me, Jack Saylor and SKip Chesney. We were all door gunners, crew chiefs and flight engineers on Chinnok helicopters.
Just as we walked into the hotel lobby there stood Jack and Sam at the front desk. We were grinning, hugging, laughing and crying all at the same time. We are a band of brothers bonded together for all time. We stayed up until 3 a.m. Friday night reminicing about the Vietnam days. As we poured over dozens of photos we were not able to keep the overwhelming emotions at bay. 36 years worth of grief, fear, resentment etc. came out and we were not able to hold back the tears. Then on Staurday night we did a repeat of Firday night. I never knew what I had meant to those three guys nor just how much they meant to me....I know now. Memories that we had buried long ago popped up in our conversations. When the painful memories surfaced we were saddened. We grieved for our fallen brothers in arms and got angry about the way that war was handled by the politicians. Too many young men died or had shattered lives because of the political stupidity.
This was truly a blessed weekend for us. IN the picture from left to right is Sam Pitts, Me, Jack Saylor and SKip Chesney. We were all door gunners, crew chiefs and flight engineers on Chinnok helicopters.
