Goodbye 2005!

Well my friends, we come to the close of another year. I will remember 2005 with mixed feelings. One of the best things to happen to me has been making so many new on line friends, the worst, without question, being Barbara’s death.

I call you my friends because you gave me the support I needed during the latter part of Barbara's long struggle with cancer and then when she died. That means a great deal me and it’s something I will never forget. Thank you!

Now it’s time to put 2005 behind us. Tomorrow the sun will rise on the beginning of a New Year, with new opportunities and new adventures in store for all of us. I hope you all find the peace and happiness you so deserve.

Tony

Times Long Gone
(Translation of Auld Lang Syne)
by Robert Burns

Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And days of long ago !

For old long ago, my dear
For old long ago,
We will take a cup of kindness yet
For old long ago.

We two have run about the hillsides
And pulled the daisies fine,
But we have wandered many a weary foot
For old long ago.

We two have paddled in the stream
From noon until dinner time,
But seas between us broad have roared
Since old long ago.

And there is a hand, my trusty friend,
And give us a hand of yours,
And we will take a goodwill draught
For old long ago!

And surely you will pay for your pint,
And surely I will pay for mine!
And we will take a cup of kindness yet
For old long ago!

How Weird are You?

You Are 60% Weird

You're so weird, you think you're *totally* normal. Right? But you wig out even the biggest of circus freaks!

How Weird Are You?

Favorite HNT Picture

The All Powerful Os decided that this week we should post our favorite Half-Nekkid Thursday picture for 2005. Since I've only been a member of the HNT Club since my first post in August, this kind of limited me to what to choose from. At first I was going to pick the pictures of the Half-Nekkid Pool Party at Watch Hill on Fire Island, but since the All Powerful Os said the pic had to be my favorite pic of me, that made it tough. I looked and I looked, but just couldn't decide. I mean, I really couldn't pick just one, because just one picture doesn't show the real me. (Sorry Boss)

NOT SO FAST HORN DOG!!! I'M NOT DONE TALKIN' YET!!!

I choose very carefully. I gave it many hour of thought, blah, blah, blah.............

WTF! Here they are! Mr. BTExpress at his finest!

Ass & Porn

Mooning My Sister In Law Ass

Plumber Ass Cleavage

Domesticated Cooking Man Ass

Man Boob (I ran out of ass pictures)

Come on ladies! You know you want me! Admit it!

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM! Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11: Villages

The area of Vietnam I was in was mostly farming villages that were not much more than huts with thatch roofs surrounded by jungle, banana trees, rice paddies or peanut patches. There may have been a small store or gas station if the village was by a road, but not much else at least in the areas I was. Trang Bang was the market place where everyone went for their food and things.

Trang Bang

Pictures of a typical village in our area


The Viet Cong (VC) or NVA controlled many of the villages. If the men were not fighting for the South Vietnamese Army, they were “drafted” by the VC. When we searched the small villages, we saw very few men of fighting age, mostly kids, women and old men. The young or middle aged men we did see, were either in the ARVN military, elderly, disabled or had been wounded and could no longer fight. I was riding a convoy through Trang Bang the day we were security for the mine sweepers, it was the first time I’d seen very many men of fighting age other than the ARVNs.

Most time we times we searched the villages as we came across them on patrol. Other times we were flown in near a village by chopper, in large groups to surround and search villages. Some of us were set up as a blocking force in case the VC tried to escape and others were sent in to do the searching. I did both jobs at one time or the other.



One day two companies from our battalion and a couple of squads of ARVN soldiers were flown in to sweep through a village where a fairly large force of NVA had been spotted. Our company, Company B, and one squad of ARVNs was dropped off on one side of the village to act as the blocking force. We were dropped off some distance away so no one would know we were coming and walked up nearer the village and set up in something like a long line part way around the village. Another company, and the other squad of ARVNs was dropped off on the opposite side of the village, spread out and started sweeping toward the village.

It didn’t look like anything was out of the ordinary was going on from our perspective, because we could see the villagers going about their normal activities. Then all of a sudden mortar rounds started dropping around us. It seems that the sweep might have driven the VC out of hiding and when they spotted us, fired in our direction. Our artillery forward observer called in a few rounds of artillery and the mortars stopped.

Both companies closed in on the village and when we entered the it, we rounded up all the villagers in a group. Some of our men guarded the people while the rest of us continued to search all the hooches.




Searching the villages almost never turned up very much, except for what I’ve already told you about. This time was not much different. My guess is that the NVA we were looking for had ducked down into well-camouflaged tunnels and hide. Those damn tunnels were every where. Interrogation of the villagers did turn up six suspected VC though. The company commanders decided that as punishment for harboring the VC, the village would be burned down. We were ordered to set fire to everything, which we did. It was really weird hearing the villager crying and screaming at us for what we were doing, but we did it and didn’t give it much thought. We looked at all the Vietnamese locals as suspect VC so there wasn’t very much sympathy for the people that tried to kill us.



We took the six suspect VC back to FSB Stuart where they would be picked up by chopper and taken back to Cu Chi for interrogation. While they were waiting for the choppers, the ARVNs started interrogating the prisoners. I guess they weren't talking, because at one point, the ARVNs covered their heads with sand bags, screamed at them, kicked them stuff like that. Then they laid them down in a puddle and once in a while poured water on their faces. This caused them to breath in the water and choke and cough a lot. We watched this go on until the choppers came for them. Word got back to us that most of the prisoners we captured didn’t make it back to Cu Chi. During the flight they were pushed out of the chopper one at a time by the ARVNs until someone talked. It worked.

I didn’t really give all this much thought at the time, but some years later it bothered me that we we would resort to such things. I now know that these people really had no choice but to do what the VC and NVA told them to do. The “allies” would retreat back to there bases at night and leave the whole country to the VC and NVA. If the locals were’t under the direct protection of the ARVNs, then they had no other choice but to hide the enemy, feed them, what ever. Torture and burning villages like we did, is what had so many locals hating us. I asked a villager that spoke some English one day if they were glad we were here “rescuing” them from the Communists. The answer was absolutely not! Most people hated us for just being here. First it was the French then us. They were tired of war and just wanted it to be over. Most people knew nothing but war their whole life, it had been going on so long. The villager said they were just farmers and all they wanted to do was grow rice and peanuts and be left alone in peace and they felt that would happen no matter who was running the country. So as long as we were there, there would be war. They just wanted us to leave so it would be all over. It didn’t happen for about six or seven more years, but it did happen.

Bored?

If you are bored, the links on this page will keep you occupied.

Linky & Dinky's Secret Clubhouse Free PEEK-O-RAMA is enormously popular! ...so we're extending it all the way through New Years Day!

http://www.linkydinky.com/ClubhousePeek.shtml

Please wallow in it to your heart's content...

Shopping List

I decided to go grocery shopping this evening. I went through some recipes for some ideas and then picked up a pad to make a shopping list. I went into the kitchen and picked up one of the many pads I have next to the microwave.

I opened the pad to find a clean page and I see Barbara's notes. A few names and numbers of some contacts she has for her consulting work, something about a "great source kit for grade 2" and a "grade 2 poetry package", a schedule for some training she was doing for Ulster County BOCES and a lot of other educator related things.

It's strange, but it made me kind of happy to come across it. It reminded me of how dedicated Barbara was to her work. I am so proud of what she did in those 33+ years as an educator. Remind me to tell you about it sometime. Right now I have to make a shopping list and get some food in this house. or else we're going to starve.

EDIT: I must have needed a lot of shit because look how long the register receipt is.



NOTE: I put it against a 27" TV so you could get an idea how long it was.


Damn! I didn't even buy all the meat I needed and I spent over $200.00! I think I can eat out cheaper than cooking.

Take notice how much money I saved and that I even bought some healthy stuff like cole slaw (fresh), shrimp(easy-clean cause I'm lazy) and cat fish.

Just love that sea food!

How was your Christmas dinner?

I decided not to go out visiting today after all, so I stayed home and cooked. I made Honey Roasted Chicken Breast, Creamy Mashed Potatoes and and Green Beans. Well, actually, I have to give all the credit to Marie Callender, I just nuked it.


Didn't quite look like the picture on the box after it was cooked though. These really are pretty good dinners as far as frozen dinners goes.


It's just that I'm still hungry and every place is closed. Anybody have any left overs they want to bring over? Hell, I'll even come over and pick it up if you live close.

I bought presents after all

Well, just for Brian, but that counts. (Screw everyone else!)

Last night my son Brian and his girl friend walk in the house, shopping bags a'rustling and tell me to close my eyes. I closed them and he dashed past me sitting at the computer in the den, into his room at the end of the hall. My first thought was, "How nice, he bought something for Christmas." My second thought was "Shit! Now I have to go out tomorrow and buy him something. WTF am I going buy him?" Now don't jump to conclusions that I wasn't going to buy my son anything for Christmas, because that's far from the truth.

I told him I didn't want anything and besides, he knew I wasn't celebrating Christmas this year. I just wanted to avoid anything to do with Christmas. But he knew I was still buying for him. I asked him what he wanted and he told me all he wanted was new clothes and that the stereo in his car sucked. I can't pick out his clothes or a new stereo, so I told him since I'm off all next week, (company closes this week every year) I'd take him for both of those on his day off. I know that's going to set me back a couple of grand, but that's okay. He's the only one I have to buy anything for so actually, that's going to be less than I normally spend each Christmas.

I spent late night and this morning trying to figure out what I could even find on Christmas Eve to buy him that wasn't going to cost very much. I knew I had to get him something to open on Christmas. Then it dawned on me how much effort he puts into taking care of his car. I headed up to PEP BOY's for a bunch of stuff he could use to clean his car inside and out. I even got a bucket and a mitt to wash it with. While I was there, I also picked him up a small tools set so maybe he'll stop borrowing mine so much. Then on the way home I swung by Circuit City and picked up a $100 gift card and then to Price Club where I bought him an CD/Radio/Alarm clock (he's dropped his a few times so could really use a new one) and a roll of wrapping paper and some tape.

Now that I was done with that I could relax, comforted in the fact that I had got Brian some stuff he could use and didn't spend all that much money. So next I headed up to Ruby Tuesday's for a burger and one or four beers (two-fers all day, everyday so WTF?).

I finish eating, pay the check and head out to the car. Then it hits me. I forgot to pick up the ravioli for dinner tomorrow. I had knew I had a container of BTExpress’s Award Winning, World Famous Tomato Sauce in the refridgerator thawing, but now I had nothing to put it on. I quick dash across the highway to the super market and wouldn't you know it, they closed at 6:00, just a few minutes ago (Christmas Eve you know). I tried a couple of other stores but they were all closed so I just headed home.

Looks like I will be going to someone's house on Christmas after all. I think I'll take Brian over to Robert and Corine' place. They told me if I changed my mind about coming, even at the last minute, to come over. It's some place I'd never been, so It won't really remind of all the Christmas's past and besides, Robert only drinks the finest beers and ales from around the world. He selects his beer like others select fine wine. 7-11 is open tomorrow, so I'll pick up some Bass Ale so I don't come empty handed.

This is for all of you

Here's a Christmas card for all of my cyber-friends. I want you all to know how much you mean to me. It's been a very rough year for me and having you all there has really made a great deal of difference. I hope you like the card. Click on it to see the show.


Credit: I got the link to this in and email from Linky Dinky.

Half-Nekked Thursday Presents

What a surpise when I see posted on my self pitying sick post, comments from TifaneyC and Blondie that they gave me HNT presents. I especially loved your gift ladies, so thank you very much.

I have so many of you wonderful people that I would love to buy HNT presents for, but since I can only pick three, and I can only pick for those I don't know that well, I pick TiffaneyC and Blonde because they gave me such nice gifts. TiffaneyC gave me a hot nurse to help me get through this FUCKING DISEASE who will be at my beck and call to take care of my every need” and gets naked to boot. Blonde gave me something I NEVER, EVER get tired of, BOOBIES. Did you know I just love boobies? Trust me, you kust have to check out Blondie's booboes this week because they are spectacular. Thank you ladies.

It was hard picking a third person because Os said it had to be someone I didn’t know very well, but I figured “fuck it”, rules are meant to be broken, so I picked the big man himself, Osbasso. I picked Os because if it weren’t for him, there would be no Half-Nekkid Thursday. If there weren’t any HNT, I would never have made such wonderful friends here in Bloggerville. If I hadn’t made such wonderful friends here in Bloggerville, my life would be so empty and getting through these last several months would have been so much harder. Thanks Os.

So for TiffaneyC, I give a gift certificate for One Years Worth of House Cleaning. I have a son that was little once, so I know how hard it is to keep up with the mess small ones make. I figured I’d hire six at once. That way they could be in and out in no time and not be in the way very long; five men and one French maid. I figured three of the guys would do the bulk of the work while the pool boy (I don’t know if you have a pool, but does that matter?) could be your eye candy. I got the French maid to keep hubbies eyes occupied so he wouldn’t see you checking out the pool boy. The guy on the unicycle is fun to watch and he can reach the high stuff for cleaning.



Now my gift for Blondie. I know Blondie has a little one too and could use the help around the house, but I didn’t want to get both her and TiffaneyC the same thing. So I got Blondie and all expense paid trip around the world so her, her little boy Jimmy and a few friends, could get away for awhile. There will also be a nanny coming along to take care of Jimmy so Blondie and her friends can enjoy themselves.



Os was easy to pick for after reading about his trip to Nashville. I got him Air Force One. Now Os can fly all around the world visiting all his HNT friends in luxury and not have to drive a million miles a week to visit them. There is lots of room if he wants to bring some of us along (HINT, HINT). Of course the name will be changed to better reflect the HNT theme, Os can decide what he’ll call it. It will be stocked with the finest food and beverages of every kind and staffed by a bevy of half-nekkid women and half-nekkid men of course for the ladies, so all the HNT passengers have a little eye candy to eat up.




Now here is my present for everyone else, my HNT post for this week. It’s really a present mostly for the ladies I suppose, but if a few guys get turned on, whatever floats your boat, I always say. So without further ado, a HNT BTExpress at 7 and again at 57.

I have good news and bad news

The good news is I'm off all next week because our company shuts down between Christmas and New Years.

The bad news is I'M FUCKING COMING DOWN WITH SOMETHING!!! ARRRRGGGGGG!!!! MOTHER FUCKER!!!!!! WHICH ONE OF BITCHES GAVE THIS TO ME? ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!

I haven't been sick in three fucking years, three fucking years! Why do I have to get sick just before my weeks vacation? Why fucking why? I have a sore throat that is starting to kill me and that nasal shit is coming, not yet, BUT IT'S FUCKING COMING, I JUST KNOW IT!!!!!!

TELL ME, WHY FUCKING WHY?!?!?

I am open to any and all suggestions to stop this thing in it's tracks. I can't, just can't, spend that week in bed! What can I do my friends?

Wait! I have an idea.

If any of you ladies have some spare time and want to come over and take care of the BTE, we could spend the week snuggling and other, uh, uh, "things". If you don't feel like getting that close, you could walk around naked. That I'm sure that would make me feel a WHOLE lot better even if I'm sick. I'll pay all expenses and feed you too. No out of pocket at all. I even promise I'll cover my mouth when I cough and sneeze.

(ROXIE!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME BABE?)

But starting right NOW, I'm going to start drowning these fucking germs with gin and tonic with a dash of lime juice. Gin has alcohol. lime juice has citric acid and alcohol and acid kills germs, so it makes perfect sense to me.

Make sense to you too, right?

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM! Chapter Ten

Chapter 10: Tunnels

Part of the training we received that first week in Vietnam covered the tunnels around the Cu Chi area. At the time, they really didn’t know just how large massive the tunnel system was. Today these tunnels are a major tourist attraction and the Vietnamese have made known what it was like.

War is hellish at the best of times. But imagine fighting a war underground in the suffocating, sweltering blackness of tunnels, barely tall enough for a man to crawl, let alone walk. Here, a wrong turn could send you plunging onto the lethal bamboo spikes of a punji stake trap. Elsewhere carefully placed trip wires were primed to detonate a grenade or release a box of scorpions onto their unsuspecting victim. In other places the entire walls of the tunnel seemed to move, covered with an impenetrable mass of spiders and stinging fire ants.

This was the reality of warfare in the tunnels of Cu Chi, the Viet Cong's underground fortress dug beneath the jungles of South Vietnam. At its peak the Cu Chi tunnel network covered some 250 kilometres - from the Cambodian border in the west to the outskirts of what was then Saigon and includes everything necessary to support an army, from hospitals, kitchens and mess halls, to headquarters facilities. The tunnels gave Viet Cong forces the apparent ability to appear out of nowhere and disappear into nothing after an attack.

This map gives an idea of the extent of the tunnel system at Cu Chi--the orange lines represent major tunnels

This is a diagram of what a typical tunnel complex looked like.

Entrances to the tunnels were always carefully disguised but one day we found one that wasn’t disguised well enough.

We were searching a large village one-day when someone noticed some movement in a clump of trees. A few guys went over to investigate and saw a piece of wire sticking out of the top of what looked like a large anthill. A close look revealed a small trap door, which turned out to be the entrance to a tunnel. Our Kit Carson Scout came over and yelled something in Vietnamese into the opening. Someone inside the tunnel yells that he is coming out. He came out followed by a few more men. You see they had been wounded because they each were bandaged in some way. The scout questioned them and they told him that they had been wounded and were recovering down below. We called for our Tunnel Rat to climb down into the tunnel and search it.

One member of our platoon was what was called a Tunnel Rat. Tunnel Rats were volunteers and most were small men who could squeeze through the tight trap doors and crawl along the narrow passages of the tunnels with relative ease. All they normally carried was a flashlight and a pistol.


The Tunnel Rat climbed down into the hole and crawled around for a while. When he came back out, he told us that this entrance leads into a small room with a few beds. He saw other openings but didn’t go in them.

We spread out and searched everything very closely while other troops rounded up all the villagers in one area. When I looked in one large bush, I found a sandbag full of small vials that looked like medicine vials containing medicine for shots. I brought the bag to our CO who was in one of the hooches interrogating one of the villagers. The interpreter read the label on the vials and said it contained dried penicillin. Ultimately we found out the village was sitting on top of a large underground hospital. Our company commander radioed in the situation and more troops were air lifted in to relieve us, search the tunnels and ultimately destroy them.

I received a lot of praise for finding the bag. They weren't getting anywhere with the questioning, but when I showed up with the bag, the villagers started talking to hopefully save their ass.

Today the tunnel complex is one of the main tourist attractions the the area. Here are some pictures that will give you an idea what they were like. The passages have been enlarged to accommodate tourists.

I know this last one doesn't have anything to do with the tunnel, so shoot me. ;-)

This is how I feel today

That's what I get for drinking beer yesterday/today from 4:00 pm until 1:30 am and then topping it off with a half a dozen or so Southern Comfort with lime juice shot with that group of 21 year old fireman from 1:30 am until 2:00 am.

I think I took some pictures but I have to go back to bed and get some more rest before I see if I did.


Edited later in the day

I went back to sleep and was jarred from a blissful sleep 3 1/2 hours later by the phone ringing. I answered and the bastard hung up. I hate wrong numbers!

Anyway, I did take some pictures but I could only salvage two of them. The rest were not viewable. No one told me the cell phone camera has a flash or that you can adjust the quality and brightness. Geese! You'd think someone would read the directions!

This one is at our company Christmas party yesterday afternoon.

This one is after drinking for who knows how long. I went out after the party with Scott (that's him on the right), Scott's wife Joanie and their friend Tom. We went to a bar Joanie used to work at so the owners took very good care of us. Live band, free food they sneeked over to us from an IRS party buffet they were hosting and massive quantities of beer and I only was charged $20! I am so going back there.

This is the end result the next day after last nights excessive drinking. But it was worth it, I had a great time.

WARNING!!!!!

Drinking six or so shots of Southern Comfort with lime juice after drinking beer
for 9 1/2 hours, leaves one feeling a bit unsteady the next day.

STREAMING CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Non stop Christmas music you can enjoy while blogging and browsing for porn.

http://www.202.fm/go/asx.asp?station=xmas&bitrate=lo

Merry Christmas my friends!

Another Picture of One of My Scars

I just got home so I wasn't properly prepared for this weeks Half-Nekkid Thursday.

(I was out drinking numerous quantities of locally brewed beer since 7:00 with a couple of friends I know. I ate dinner first so don't worry.)

When I got home I realized how late it was and I wasn't prepared, so I looked around the computer and found a picture of another one of my scars. I hope your not disappointed.

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM! Chapter Nine

Chapter 9: Ambushed

Early in the morning on October 31, 1968, our platoon was on patrol searching a heavily wooded area. I was assigned to walk left flank for the first time. That means another guy and I walked out maybe ten meters to the left side of the main column. Just far enough so no one sneaks up too close the main column, but near enough so we don’t get separated from the group in case of trouble. The right flank does the same thing on the other side. There are also point men that walk a little ahead of the main column for the same reason.

We were walking through the area and came across a few huts that were unoccupied and didn’t find anything. You couldn’t see very far around us so we stayed pretty close to the main column. Suddenly there was an explosion up front. We got down then moved quickly over toward the main group. I heard some of our men return fire and then someone called for a cease-fire and they stopped. The whole thing took 30 seconds, maybe even less.

Next I heard the call, “MEDIC! MEDIC!” I knew someone had been hit. The medic gets up and runs crouched over up forward. Then they call for the M-60 machinegun up front. The machine gunner yells, “Let’s go!” He starts moving toward the front where the fire came from and I follow him along with the second ammo bearer. Not too far up ahead we run past the medic (Doc as medics were called) tending to someone. It was Sergeant Cox, our platoon sergeant. He had volunteered to walk point that day. He volunteered to walk point quite often. He said he liked walking point, but I think he really did it when he wasn’t comfortable letting someone else do it because he felt there might be trouble. That’s the kind of man he was.

We got into position, the gunner in the center and ammo bearers on either side. I toss off my backpack with the ammo and put it in front of me in case it’s needed. The gunner always kept some ammo with him just in case so mine wasn’t needed right now. I search the area looking for movement and see someone moving over to my right. I turn quickly but see it’s one of our men getting into position. More men are now also moving into positions around us. I’m really expecting all hell to break loose at this point but nothing happens. Things are pretty quite and still no shooting. I just hear the sounds of our own guys moving around and talking excitedly very quietly among themselves.

I soon hear the radio operator (RTO) call for a dust off (medivac chopper). We held our positions and waited for the chopper to pick up Sargent Cox. When the chopper got close, they tossed out a smoke grenade to identify our position and then carried the sergeant out to an open area and when the chopper landed, they put the sergeant on. They were taking him to the 12th Evac Hospital at Cu Chi. The same place they had taken me a day or two ago. This is what it had in the operational report about this incident.

At 0844H vic XT513197, Co B detonated a claymore mine positioned in a tree. Results, 1 US WIA (dustoff).

This was what it was usually like was while I was there, snipers would lie in wait for us and when we got close, they opened fire with small arms or explosives. This time it was a claymore mine positioned in a tree. Then the snipers usually disappear into thin air.

We continued our patrol that day without any more trouble, but we did manage to capture one Viet Cong soldier that afternoon, I don’t remember how though. When we got back to the base camp, we turned over the VC to the MPs and they flew him into Cu Chi for questioning.

At 1400H vic XT519201, Co B apprehended 1 male detainee who was evac to IPW.

The next day we found out Sergeant Cox sustained severe head wounds and died.


I did a search of the Internet for information about Sergeant Cox and here is what I found.

On the Vietnam Memorial web site each person listed on the wall has an information page. Here is what little bit of information is listed for James.

JAMES ALAN COX

SSGT - E5 - Army - Selective Service
25th Infantry Division
21 year old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Apr 21, 1947
From HOLLIS, NEW YORK
Length of service 1 year.
His tour of duty began on Jul 01, 1968
Casualty was on Oct 31, 1968
in HUA NGHIA, SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY
OTHER EXPLOSIVE DEVICE
Body was recovered
Religion
LUTHERAN & MISSOURI SYNOD

Panel 40W - - Line 63


I also found a web site that has rubbings of the names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Here is a rubbing of James’ name.




I clicked on a link on the Vietnam Memorial web page that took me to a page where I could leave a comment or pictures. I found this note from the daughter of one of James’ best friends’ back home in Queens.

Paula Miller
pamille5@vt.edu
Daughter of good friend
65 Blossom Hill Road
Lebanon, NJ 08833 USA
Jimmy Cox was a good friend of my father's in New York. I know little about him, but I do have the honor of holding his army green jacket with his name on it. I say I know little about him but I feel the impact of his tragically short life on my father. My father is not an emotional man, and I have never seen him cry about anything save Jimmy. I can see through my father's eyes and the tears, how wonderful this young man must have been. To Jimmy and my dad, thank you, I love you.
Peaches

I sent Paula an email on Saturday to the address she posted offering to tell her what little I knew about James. I’ve read so many entries similar to hers on so many different Vietnam related web sites from people crying for any little bits of information about someone that they knew that served in Vietnam. Maybe I can help her fill in some of the blanks. I hope she writes me back.