[oh8eleven]

Sorry about your brother. 25th Division (Tropic Lightning) is an historic unit ... they're depicted in the movie,"From Here to Eternity" ... one of my favorites. Ever look up the Tunnels of Cu Chi on YouTube?

You have a really interesting history, me not so much. I live in Rochester, grew up in NYC, but knew nothing about my family's paternal history.
When I retired in 2007 I used Ancestry to discover my past all the way back to Ireland. With a classic Irish surname, it was not an easy task - but I eventually discovered my history was typical - survived the Great Famine (1840s); emigrated to NYC; descendants spread out over the years.
But that's what made the great Aunt Margaret debacle more painful. I never even knew I had maternal relatives who came from Ireland since my mother's family is like 90% English.

[mass55th]

With all that English ancestry, we might even be related :-) I was born and raised in Rochester, New York. Ended up in the Utica/Rome area around 1972 with my then husband. I remember my brother writing home about the tunnels of Cu Chi. He said they even found Singer sewing machines in them. Quite the black market over there so he said. I’ve seen the YouTube videos, and years ago I bought the book “The Tunnels of Cu Chi” by Tom Mangold. I gave it to my niece after her father died. She was only 16 at the time. Now she’s married with four kids of her own, that of course he never got to see or enjoy.