Tag: Vietnam

Remember and Honor

On this 25th day of May 2026, we remember and honor those who died in military service. This is for all who went to serve and didn’t survive. Any one of us who served could have been one of them, and any family could be related.

I know of only one relative who died while serving. Uncle Arne Gerhard Benson died at Ft. Lewis, WA, in 1943 while serving with the US Army. Some family letters talk about his service as a civilian in the Army Corps of Engineers before he enlisted.1 Whittier, Alaska, January 29, 1942, Dear Mother, … This is a Gov. Defense project, so I’ll be here until next year sometime. I hear that they are censuring the mail now so will not say anything about it. I can’t think of much to say except that we have plenty of ice and it’s cold. Give everyone my regards, and love to you. Arne

Jan. 16, 1943 Dearest Mother, … We had some pretty tough going up North, and also in the Orient so it seems quiet and peaceful here in comparison. I can’t tell you much about it now but hope to be able to soon. I have two months of intensive training left here and then the Lord only knows what next. If they have any more Hell and High water to dish out I guess I can take it.

Ft. Lewis Wash Jan. 16, 1943, Dear Dot, … I didn’t tell Mother as she would have worried. I transferred my Service Nov 3 when I got out of the Hosp. I was with the Army Eng. in Alaska water and also the Near East. I got broken up during a heavy Blow in the Bering Sea. My collar bone, three ribs, two vertebrae in my back and my left leg below the knee. It sounds like a lot but wasn’t so bad. 2Did the COE have fishing boats? There are pictures of Arne on one during that time period.

There may have been others, but Walter Trisko was the only high school classmate3Central High School, Alexandria, MN, class of 1955. I remember dying while serving Vietnam. Classmate Walt

So, remember and honor those who died but be aware that for many survivors absence from war is not the same as peace of the soul.

Nam Vets Day 2026

Remember:

Many went – Many came back – None were the same
This is for all who went
Any one of us who served
Could have been one of them
And any family could be related1Echoes of Nam: Absence from war is not the same as peace of the soul by John Morris Benson

On this date, fifty-three years ago: “U.S. troops withdraw from Vietnam,” was the headline.2ref

Flip of a Coin:

I don’t remember the date or time, but it was an event in the late spring of 1958 I’ll never forget. SSG Harry Harkness took Jackie E. West and me aside, saying something like, “I need one of you to lead a team to install new equipment and update some existing equipment at the embassy in Saigon. The job will also require some activity in other places in the area. Both of you are due for separation in less than 90 days so you’ll have to extend for a year. Are you willing?”

We were both willing to be extended, so who went to Vietnam was decided by the flip of a quarter.

I fully believe it was God’s plan for the coin to land as it did. With the one-year extension, I would never have gone to Edison Tech in Seattle to take the night class where I met my future wife.
April 3, 2026 is our 67th anniversary.

Jackie E West, my counterpart, is in the history books for some of the special operations in which he was later involved. As someone said, and others often repeat, “There but for the Grace of God go I.”

PS: Like Colonel Flagg from MASH, we were not there then! The Army Security Agency I mean, but written and oral history tells us there were advisors for many activities related to North v. South issues.

Ray LePoidevin – Combat vet and Author of Alternate Route
“Let’s see what you do if you get back from Nam alive.”