Steve, I broke out the iron the other day, and of course thought of you. I also thought you have been pretty quite as of late. Hope all is well on your end. Take care and Semper Fi brother.

I know this week is problematic for a lot of us as we think of those we lost at Margo. For me, the loss of Dominic Pollastro (Nose) hits hard. He volunteered to take some canteens down to the water hole and died there. He had a great sense of humor. Larry McCartney and Eric Smith heled me to get a handle on what happened there and to understand why September was a bad time for me each year.

Fifty-two years ago I was pulled from the field to begin checking out to rotate home. When I reached Danang, the last civilian flight to Okinawa had left and I was offered a ride on a C 130 taking equipment back to Okinawa. Needless to say, I took a noisy slow sweet ride.

It took me years to figure out why I was so jumpy in early September. The nights get longer, my heart races, and my nerves jingle. My startle response is much quicker and my temper much shorter. I know it will pass, but it makes for a few interesting days. The reunion in Detroit has helped as has keeping in contact with some who share my experience. Semper Fi to all my bothers out there and those who went before at Khe Sahn and Margo.

I am hoping that all of my 2/26 brothers have a Happy New Year, and that you remember those who were lost in '67 and '68 with fondness and thanks for having had the honor of serving with them. Semper Fi

I just finished General Lynch's article on Margo and the trek through the DMZ. It filled in some gaps in my memories and also, as the General noted, some items not found in the 2/26 Command Chronology Eric Smith sent me a number of years back. This is an important read for everyone who made that journey.

For some reason I have been thinking of Lucky Staggs who won the Silver Star up at Con Thien. I don't know whether it was bad luck, PTSD, or something else, but Lucky wound up in Jackson Michigan Prison doing hard time. While he was there, he was killed during a riot as he was trying to save one of the guards. In my eyes, he was a hero to the end. I want us to remember our brothers who came home to troubled times and who weren't as fortunate as those of us who were able to pull our lives together after Nam.

One night during the slog through the DMZ, two of us with TACP made a birthday cake for Capt. Dewey, one of the air officers. We used a pound cake and melted a crispy chocolate disk for frosting. He didn't make it to the reunion in Detroit, but Capt. Greeley, our other air officer called him and we were able to talk briefly about the night he was presented with the cake.