Veteran's Day We Remember... Fifty Years Ago My Brother Returned Home From Vietnam

John E. Ryan
Served in the Army 1964-1966
with the Big Red 1 

November 11, 2016 ~  Today, we remember all the men and women who have served our great country.  My brother John who also happens to be my godfather and the best story teller I know proudly served in Vietnam.  To this day he can tell you in great detail stories of his time overseas. 

In 1964 instead of waiting to be drafted for the Vietnam War, he decided he would volunteer to serve and get it over with while he was young.  Ironically, if he had waited to be drafted, he would have been rejected for medical reasons (flat feet) and sent home. The morning he went to enlist he told me he had spent most of the day taking both written and physical exams and proceeding from one line to the next having his paper work reviewed.  When he finally got to the last line the Army Sargent took one look at his papers and apparently read that he had flat feet, he looked up at John and with a look of disbelief said, "You volunteered?"! With a smirk on his face he stamped the paperwork and handed it to John who was now officially enlisted into the Army.  

It did not take long for John to experience burning, painful, sore feet after many long days and weeks of training.   In the summer of 1965, John became aware that they were about to send some of the men over to Vietnam.  He went to the medic and asked what he could do for his aching feet.  The doctor examined his feet and looked at his medical record.  The doctor told John he could receive a medical discharge. John then looked into his eyes and told him that he was aware that some men would be going to Vietnam and he wanted to go.  Again he asked the doctor to tell him what he should do for his feet.  He was given orthotics to put into his boots and told that wearing them would be painful at first but eventually (6-8 weeks later) his feet will feel better.  

It was about six months prior to his tour of duty ending he was recruited to go to Vietnam with the Big Red 1.  John celebrated his 22nd birthday aboard the USS Blatchford (AP-153) which was transferred to the Pacific in 1965 to carry troops to Vietnam. 

This week, I was listening to old tape recordings.  In the 1960's my mother enjoyed entertaining me and my sisters by playing the organ, singing songs as we danced and sang along.  Often times she would record herself playing either the piano or organ when she was practicing and later would play the recording back for us to hear.  On this particular recording our young voices can be heard in an ear piercing volume as we held the microphone too close to our little mouths and shouted out our introduction of the performer, "Introducing Mickie Ryan" we would say as my mother started to play a tune.  

One fall afternoon in 1965 mother decided to play records for us to dance and sing along to during our lunch break from school. A new record by the McCoys had become rather popular with its hit song, "Hang on Sloopy" and when it ended she played the B-side of the record, "I Can't Explain It".  As the song started to play, I gleefully announced into the microphone, "This is Johnny's favorite song!"  My mother than says, "that was little Maureen and of course as you all know our dear John is over in Vietnam. As I sigh, I wonder what he's doing right now." By the tone of my mother's voice she was obviously very concerned about my brother, after a two second pause she says, "Of course we know what he's doing, I mean, I wonder how he's getting along. He arrived about the 16th of October ... haven't heard anything."  A few more seconds of "I Can't Explain It"  plays in the background and then mother proclaims, "Tell you this much when he gets home we are going to have one big blast of a party with all of our kinfolk.  We'll play 'Sloop', 'I Can't Explain It' and anything they love."

I was clearly too young to understand how dangerous it was for John to be in Vietnam on the battlefield.  However, it is on this rare occasion when I listened to my mother's voice recorded back in November of 1965,  that I sense a twinge of fear and concern about my brother's safety.   Decades would pass before I would hear first hand the stories and learn exactly what he experienced while serving in Vietnam with the Big Red 1.  

1st Infantry Division Big Red 1

John returned home safe in the spring of 1966 and while I don't recall if there was a big blast of a party, I do know that both my parents were very grateful and proud of their son.  I too am very proud and grateful to him for his service.  So today we remember all Veterans living and deceased and thank them for serving our country.  God Bless America!