Yes, what greater gift is then friendship. Both given and received
Thanks for your kind words. I spoke to Gary’s sister Karen and she told me Gary’s last time home on leave was something to remember. He told his sister he didn’t think he’d be back but he’d be the best damn Gomer the Corp had ever seen.
A wonderful woman who I met over the internet contacted several officers who maintain a database where the events and strategies of battles fought in Viet Nam are discussed and it is through Linda Stocker and her husband Gary’s research done on my behalf that Gary’s name came up with Oscar Austin’s.
They publish online and go to Vietnam searching for dog tags and they return them to family members. Gary’s tags were lost and his sister Karen Kolbe never received much more than photos when Gary died. The organization is called TOP which is short for TOUR OF PEACE. While it’s true that Vietnam is full of fake reproduction dog tags for sale, if Gary’s are fake, I don’t think it matters to Gary’s sister because now she has something to hold in her hand when she thinks of her brother’s last leave before heading to Vietnam.
Here is a link to Gary’s story which was published by TOP in the summer of 2006. I sent the stockers the grade school photo of Gary which was taken at St. Annes Catholic School in Wausau, Wisconsin back in the 50’s It’s lucky my mother saved all my old class photos because that’s one I really treasure.
Pg. 3 & 4
http://topvietnamveterans.org/newsletters/2006-Summer.pdf
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