Veteran reunions
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 1:33 pm
I saw this photo of a group of veterans at a reunion at Gettysburg about a half century after the battle. It reminded me of a battalion reunion I put on at Branson in 2015 for veterans of the 6th Battalion 31st Infantry, 9th Infantry Division who served in Vietnam. One of the group photos showed 16 men....the same number as in the Civil War veteran photo. Echo company veterans...the recon and heavy mortar platoon company. The Vietnam reunion was 45 years after the battalion was deactivated in Vietnam. And... by the way.... several of the firebases in the battalion AO were named after Civil war battles or famous Civil War generals. There was a Gettysburg in the Plain of Reeds West of Saigon. There was a Chamberlain, commander at little Round Top, nearer to Saigon. There was also a Jackson, giving the South a straw further North of Chamberlain. However, of course General Jackson was already dead by the time of the Civil War Gettysburg.
I tried a different comparison with a handful of guys from my old company Alpha...although Alpha had nearly twice as many guys in attendance as Echo the small group interested me. Notice how now days nobody wears a suit except to weddings, funerals, and court dates if the wearer happens to be the defendant or the lawyer representing him.
I tried a different comparison with a handful of guys from my old company Alpha...although Alpha had nearly twice as many guys in attendance as Echo the small group interested me. Notice how now days nobody wears a suit except to weddings, funerals, and court dates if the wearer happens to be the defendant or the lawyer representing him.