Catching up on Dispatches, and I’m looking forward to reading the work of Geoffrey Wawro, as well as seeing and listening to Rick Parker. I too am an artist, but could only label myself after my experiences in life, particularly after an extended tour of duty in Vietnam, including 10 months as a gunner in an Infantry platoon in I Corps.

As many of our brothers did, once home, I continued my education, taught, struggled, joined VVA Chapter 47, took part in journeys back to Vietnam, and continue working in my ceramic studio in the mountain community of Big Bear in Southern California. Thanks to all for these interviews.

John Gordon
via Facebook

I am hosting a 50-year commemoration of the end of the Vietnam War on April 30 in Nacogdoches, Texas. Our keynote speaker is Maj. Gen. Christopher Bentley, and we have a lineup of veterans who served, as well as family members of veterans of those who didn’t come home from the war.

I always enjoy the Letters section. As a former newspaper editor, The VVA Veteran is the best publication of all the veterans groups and I hope to have many more years to continue reading it.

Michael Bishop
Douglass, Texas

Editor's Note: Events are being held around the country celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Be sure to check out "Reunions" on page 40 for events being hosted near you.

Thank you for “The War on Radio.” It revealed an old forgotten memory that began in 7th grade, when I met Fayette Pinkney. When Fayette wasn’t smiling, she was singing. In 10th grade she would become a founding member of the The Three Degrees, whose harmonies added to the soulful mix of music on Philadelphia radio.

Although I never saw Fayette again after high school, I can still see that day mid-way through my tour of duty in Vietnam. I was overwhelmed with a sense of home when I heard an Army DJ announce, “This next song is by The Three Degrees.” I saw Fayette’s pretty girl smile. For just a moment as I listened to the song’s harmony, she was holding my hand. I was lifted out of the war and away from Vietnam. As the song ended, I was back on the streetcorners of West Philly hanging with the boys watching the girls go by.

Gary Pizzuto
via email

Fifty-six years ago, on February 3, 1968, I landed in Vietnam while the 1968 Tet Offensive was in full fury. Last weekend our family attended a vocal music show. Our granddaughter, Kadance, was one of the performers.

During the show, a young man sang the “The Sound of Silence” and suddenly I was back in an Army hospital that I had been medevaced to after being wounded in August 1968.

I was lying in that hospital bed, my eyes and shrapnel wounds bandaged. Doctors didn’t know if I’d lose my sight—I was 20 years old and terrified by the thought of being blind.

Last weekend, listening to “The Sound of Silence,” a memory reawakened—of a nurse who set her transistor radio on my pillow to muffle the outside noises that startled me. I remembered that song coming on and how I wept beneath my bandages.

That memory had lain dormant for more than fifty years until triggered by a young man singing. I did regain my sight, but those days of darkness are never far away.

Wendell Affield
via email

Thoroughly enjoyed Trevor Strunk’s article on the music associated with the war. As he noted, there is no comprehensive list, and I expect there are already countless emails flagging the omissions.

I will add one that on the surface, doesn’t seem to have been associated with the war, but I have to nominate “Last Train to Clarksville” by The Monkees. Probably more memorable for its rhythm and harmony, there is this memorable line as the singer implores his lady to come to the station to meet him and sings, “and I don’t know if I’m ever coming home.”

I remember hearing it on the radio as I was driving from a training session at San Diego Naval Station up to my minesweeper in Long Beach a couple of months before deploying to Vietnam. Kind of hit me right between the eyes.

Dennis Davis
via email

I think Vietnam War veterans have a tremendous opportunity to leave a meaningful legacy for the future.

Civics education is virtually non-existent in our nation. Perhaps this has led to the plethora of problems we have experienced in recent decades. VVA is taking a pretty traditional approach to dissolution, which may or may not have lasting impact. I am hoping that my brothers and sisters share my belief in the importance of providing our grandchildren and future generations with the basics of civics that will ensure the longevity of our constitutional republic. What do others think?

Mark S. Keillor
via email

When I came home I, like many of my fellow vets, was not well treated. It didn’t matter what branch, what time, or where you served. If you were affiliated with the Vietnam War, you were the enemy to many of the civilians in the States.

Thay caused many, including myself, to shut up about our service.

Most of my family and friends didn’t know anything about my service until the last few years. That was due to me going to the VA and dealing with my health issues.

As if all that wasn’t enough, I tried to join the American Legion and the VFW after I came home. I was turned down by both. While I am sure that I could join now, the turndown haunted me for many years. I no longer need or want either organization. Many things have been done to help us. I was on an Honor Flight and found it to be a great experience. My family has become very supportive and helpful. The vets I meet at the VA have been great.

Mike Lyng
via email

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