Sharon

Today is my good friend, Sharon's birth day. I love to honor those who have meant lots to me and have departed this life for the next. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARON. Thinking of Sharon reminds me of my best bud in Vietnam, John Kerr. A West Pointer, good looking, slim, had that natural look about him. Could have easily posed for a "reup" poster. One of those guys who had it all. When I got to the Unit, (1/501 Infantry Battalion) he had been in country six months, commanding B Company. I met him, seemed like really a nice guy, kind of soft spoken. In those days the Chaplain resided back at the FSB (fire support base), the "Aide Station" or the Brigade area, way away from the fighting. 

I had been at the battalion a couple of weeks and really didn't know what I was suppose to be doing. One day, I am standing around and some soldier walks up and says, "Sir, Captain Kerr wants to speak to you and he hands me what I guess was the hand set for the radio (PRC25). I say, "this is the Chaplain."  Captain Kerr says, "Chaplain, where the fuck are you. My soldiers need to see you. You are not doing shit back at the rear. I will expect to see you before close of business today." Thus began this terrific relationship with the Company B Commander. He commanded respect and absolutely was leadership personified. He said to me one day, "Chaplain you don't know anything about what it means to be in combat but I am going to teach you." So, for the next couple of months I was his shadow. It was unbelievable. We would be in firefights, calling in artillery. Things that you did in Vietnam. We talked. He was like a master tactician, my mentor: "if this happens, we do this." It was a great continual "classroom in combat." One day he tells me, "you need to start carrying a weapon." Why? "Well, my soldiers will try to protect you and they need to be taking of themselves. If you have a weapon, my bet is they won't worry about you." 

Captain Kerr ran a tight ship. He seemed to be on top of everything. I got to know the other commanders and troops but nobody like John. He was always after me to come to his Company. I had to tell him a couple of times, there are other companies. It was like he didn't hear me. "Where are you? When are you coming out?" I loved the guy. A typical example of how he was is that he despised the S3, Operations guy. He calls him up and says something like, "since you never leave your bunker, I want you to give the Chaplain that little Car15 you have." An argument ensued. I really don't know what happened but the next thing I know, the S3 finds me and hands over the weapon. In those days there were at best a few of these--they were a little cut down version of an M16. I loved that weapon and only fired it at the range in the "rear" a few times. But, John was right, it seemed that the attitude of soldiers changed when they didn't feel they had to protect me. I had my own weapon. 

I was going on Rand R, meeting my wife in Hawaii. John came to the FSB to see me off. He said,  "Chaplain, your mission is to bring me a fifth of "Chives Regal." (SCOTCH) You bring me one back or I am going to kick your ass." He laughed big. It was the last time I would see John. He got killed in a kind of freaky way. The headquarters element was walking through a ville when a VC popped up out of a spider hole and killed John and three others. I was devastated. I was so angry at God, the war. My grief overwhelmed me. It was like I had lost a part of myself. I sat in my tent literally for two days. Finally somehow I moved on but  think of my good buddy John, often. I am always sad when I do. I kept the bottle of "Chives" for a long time. 

Sharon and her good friend, Flora, at the Infusion Center. Sharon loved Elvis.