John was a friend and one of the first people I met when I got to Charlie Company 1/22 Infantry. He was a small quiet guy and was friendly and very well liked. John and I were both from Texas so we got kind of lumped together which suited us just fine. Actually we were from oposite sides of the state and didn't have much in common in terms of shared experience, but that didn't make much difference when we were so far from either of our homes. John had not been in country a lot longer than me, but since he had a little more time than me, he took me under his wing to see that I learned the ropes. I remember being on ambush together on the darkest night I had ever seen. Some time after midnight John was on guard and woke me because he thought he heard movement nearby. It was so dark you could not see the end ot your rifle. We huddled together for the rest of the night listening for the sound again, but it never came. By dawn we were both exhausted and scared. We broke the ambush and made our way back to the company not sure whether we had been lucky or just spooked. A couple of months later I was in base camp separated from the company when I got the word that John had been killed. The company had come under fire from a sniper and John was hit. He was the only casualty. I think of John often and I give thanks for the short time we were friends. God bless you John, you won't be forgotten The 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, was the one of the longest-serving unit ground units in Vietnam, operating in-country from 1966 until withdrawal in 1972. Visit the 22nd Infantry Regiment. A memorial from his friend and fellow vet, Robert Wren rewren@gmail.com  23 Apr 2001

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