1/50th Infantry Association Ironies and Paradoxes |
"So isn't it ironic?""It's like rain on your wedding day "Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you |
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It's a Really Small World!© Ray Sarlin, 2003. All rights reserved. A few days ago, my wife and I were having lunch in Brisbane (1,000 miles north of Sydney) with fellow American Vietnam Veterans John (173rd Airborne) and his wife Toni (see "What are the Odds" below), and Glen (1st Cav) and his wife Liz. Both couples had met in Sydney when the guys took their R&Rs there. Glen returned to Sydney after his ETS and worked with Liz in Kings Cross for a few years. Ultimately he and Liz were married. Anyway, as we were breaking up after lunch, I casually discussed the Sydney R&R article and said, "You'll find it really interesting!" [Shift to today]. When I got home I had this email in my inbox, "Unbelievable! Ray - just a quick note to say UNBELIEVABLE!!! I just sat down to edit - that's how I'm spending my summer - checked this email and good grief - an email from Liz and Glen who worked at the coffee shop thirty something years ago and had lunch with you yesterday - I can't believe it! What are the odds? Wow, wow, wow and thanks for your website! I have a lot to share with them! I can't wait to talk to them - I never imagined I would! Thanks again! Jan." It seems that the three of them worked together in Sydney, where Liz and Glen were an item. When they broke up, Glen and Jan started dating but they all stayed friends. Liz and Glen got back together and married, Jan married and moved to Canada, and three decades passed. When I called Liz to tell her about the email from Jan, she laughed, "Imagine going to your website and seeing a photo of my husband's old girlfriend!" Then she added that she and Jan had been best friends and she is really excited about making contact. Isn't life wonderful? What a small world. |
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Only a month later (4 June 2002), John got in touch again saying, "I thought you'd like to see this. Small world. I went to High School with Jim Strano. I enlisted in the Army shortly after he left for Viet Nam and I went in just after graduating in 1968. Our yearbook ("Maple Leaves" (1968)) is dedicated to him. The Memorial Dedication (click on thumbnail for enlargement) was written by students who knew him. I did not know him well, but I knew what kind of man he was. A hero. We all heard how the North Korean communists used the news of Jimmy's death to demoralize Angelo, who was their prisoner. Sincerely, John Puzzo, Bulkeley High School, Class of 1968, Hartford, Connecticut. K Company, 75th Rangers, US Army Republic of Viet Nam, 1970." |
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There is Always Something Amazing!© Toby Jordan, 2002. All rights reserved. (Reprinted in part from The Right
Track, April 2002.) We are always talking about closure and how we can find it. Well it's not only something that we as veterans are looking for it can also be people that have lost a loved one and are looking for some answers. This all started with an email from Mick Hawkins, letting me know that he had just talked to Jim Ferguson's sisters and had a wonderful time talking about Jim. As close friends as Jim and I were, I had no idea that he had any sisters. So with the phone number from Mick I contacted the sisters and set up a meeting in Columbia, Mo. We had a wonderful time talking about a brother they had lost thirty some odd years ago but had not ever gotten to talk to anyone that was with Jim at the time of his passing, and had no idea how it happened. I feel that the visit we had and the time we shared help bring some closure to the family that had been left in the dark for so long. But that's not the end to this story, after a lot of talk and sharing of old photos we found that Jim's father and my Grandfather were raised together, and as a small boy I had probably visited with this family and played with Jim as a child. So not only did we have some closure, we found some new friends that I'm sure we will visit with often in the future. |
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Chance Encounters!© Robert Melendez, 2002. All rights reserved. (Reprinted in part from The
Right Track, April 2002.) I belong to a running group, which is currently training for a marathon. During one of our long training runs, I began talking with one of our runners in our group. Since it was a long run and he seemed to be hurting, I came along side of him and asked him how he felt. He laughed and said that he had not taken care of his body earlier in his life and that "eating c-rations for 23 years" had taken its toll on his body. Well, now I was really interested. As we continued to talk, I discovered that he was an Airborne Ranger and that he served in Vietnam in 1971. I asked what area he was in and he said, "...you probably won't know the areas since they were really small." He went on to say that he was in Qui Nhon, Bong Son and Phu My! As it turns out, he was attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade and even spent time at LZ Uplift!!! He also remembered that his company worked with a "battalion of APCs" and that their firepower was awesome! |
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War Buddies Meet After 33 Years!© Rigo Ordaz, 2002. All rights reserved.
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What are the odds?© Ray Sarlin, 2002. All rights reserved. |
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Infantry Ironies and ParadoxesIn theory, infantry theory and practice are the same. In practice, they're not. |
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Play the Game (of Life)!Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. |
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