Harold Thomas, pictured standing far left, went by the nickname 'Louisiana' because of his southern drawl he was never able to shake even after living in California for 58 years. A group of fellow veterans were hoping to located him and their search went global. (Photo courtesy of Susan Waldrop Garvin).
It’s good they found him. Closure is good.
A kid in my neighborhood did a tour in ‘nam. He wrote his parents about how hot and boring it was but he was thankful his office had air conditioning. When he came home, they noticed he had a Purple Heart (2 clusters I think). He told his mother he fell down the steps in the building where he worked. No one disputed it in front of her.
The photo of them eating their rations in the grass reminded of a boss I had. He did a couple tours in Vietnam as a field medic.
We were talking about some nice parks and campgrounds in our area. I asked him: “hey Jack, that sounds like a nice place - have any interest in being out in the woods and camping?”
His deadpan reply was: I spent two years “camping” in Vietnam. I have no interest to go camping again.