GUEST COMMENTARY: Soldier’s family has never reconciled his loss
More than 58,000 U.S. families lost loved ones in the Vietnam War. This is my family’s story:
In late summer 1968, the descendants of John and Elizabeth Robertson, lifelong residents of Gadsden, Alabama, had a reunion at Noccalula Falls Park. The occasion was the “send-off” of John and Elizabeth’s great-grandson and my cousin, Donald Leo Cline (“Donnie” to all of us). He was a baby-faced, small, shy boy of 19 who looked completely out of place in his Army uniform.
John and Elizabeth had been the parents of nine children: five daughters and four sons. Their daughter, Mary, became the grandmother of Donnie and his sister, Anita Ann. Daughter Florene, a beauty who was the runner-up in the Miss Birmingham beauty contest in 1928, became the mother of Peggy June Elder, Miss Gadsden in 1946. Peggy went on to win the Miss Alabama pageant, climaxed by becoming second runner-up in the Miss America pageant of 1946.
As was the tendency of the times, all my great-grandparents’ children stayed close to home. An exception was my own grandmother, Frances Robertson Reed, who married a lifelong Georgia resident and moved with him to a suburb of Atlanta. Thus, I became part of the fork in our family tree, the “Georgia branch.”
The reunion in 1968 is a “burned-in” remembrance for all of us still living. It was meant to be a show of love and encouragement for Donnie. Even though we knew his service would likely mean he would be deployed to Vietnam, not one of us gave any consideration to the thought that he might not return.
Months passed, but it seemed like only a few days when we received word of Donnie. He was in the 1st Platoon of Company D 1/22 Infantry, Fourth Infantry Division. He was killed on April 5, 1969, almost six months to the day after his arrival in Vietnam. The following is from the Army’s “after action” report from that day:
MORE VIDEO:
• In reaction to the locating of a large enemy force in the vicinity of the Cu Don and the enemy’s willingness to remain and fight, five B-52 strikes were conducted in the area to prepare for the combat assault of 1/22 Infantry. On 5 April, 1/22 Inf moved recon patrols to objective areas to establish blocking positions. First Platoon Company D 1/22 on recon observed 4 NVA in bunkers. The platoon withdrew and airstrikes and artillery were employed. The platoon sent recon patrols in the afternoon into the area and found an extensive bunker complex. As the unit reconnoitered the hill by fire, the enemy suddenly attacked from the bunkers on top of the hill and from the flanks with small arms and B40 rockets. Second Platoon Company D 1/22 was dispatched to assist in the evacuation of casualties and also made contact with a flanking enemy force. Contact was broken at 1620 resulting in 23 NVA KIA, 20 possible NVA KIA, 1 US KIA, 5 US KIA (MIA), and 17 US WIA. (Extracted from Headquarters, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division’s Combat Operation After Action Report for Operation Wayne Grey, 30 April 1969. Operation Wayne Grey was conducted by the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division from 1 March 1969 to 14 April 1969 in Plei Trap, Kontum Province, RVN.)
April 6-9, the Army moved out while the Air Force bombed the entire area. Of the five members of the platoon that were killed or missing in action, four of the five bodies were recovered by D Company on April 10 and the last on April 11. It is not known if Donnie’s body was the one recovered the day of the battle or later on.
On or about these dates, the Georgia branch of our family received the distressing news. I remember my mom’s call to her Aunt Mary in Gadsden, who told us that “there is always a special place in a grandmother’s heart for her only grandson.” The funeral in Gadsden was the saddest I have ever attended. And like many in my generation, it caused me to question everything from that point forward.
Forty-eight years have passed, and many of our family members have grown old and died. My great-grandparents are buried in the Union Hill Cemetery. Several of us will journey from Georgia to Gadsden this weekend to meet with Peggy Elder Butler and her daughters to view The Moving Wall and visit Donnie’s grave. Donnie’s nieces will come from Huntsville and bring his medals and war pictures for us to reminisce over. We will do this for the dear one whose loss we have never been able to reconcile.
Phyllis Rich Carpenter lives in Dallas, Georgia. She is the author of “Rolling Waters — A Southern Memoir.”
http://www.gadsdentimes.com/news/20170508/guest-commentary-soldiers-family-has-never-reconciled-his-loss
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário