[archy]

I've also just lost a pal myself. Those who'd been in the military with him and a very few journalist pals could get away with calling him *sandbag* to his face after a North Vietnamese machinegunner at the Ia Drang fight in 1965 dragged his body among others as cover for the light machinegun he was using. He was then badly shot up by Americans trying to silence the gun, unavoidable under the circumstances.

He got into some other dicey situations along the way, but had 39 more years of other things to accomplish before finally leaving us behind. I can't help but think that he and John Thomas Wrobleski are now enjoying each others company, and I hope we'll see them again.

[Mr. Silverback]

That's a heck of a story!