Memories

If you would like to submit any memories or short stories to share, please e-mail them to gcompton67@yahoo.com .

Below is a copy of an article published in the Atchison, Kansas, newspaper--The Atchison Globe--back in 2008, the year of Charlie Company's first reunion.  Atchison is the home of 2nd Platoon's David Michael Hopkins, so the newspaper was interested in writing a story about a hometown boy, known locally as "David," but to us as "Mike."

The Good with the Bad

By Faye Miller

Published in the Atchison Globe

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The days and the mission were always the same:  endure the hot, relentless humidity, mud and mosquitoes and search and destroy the enemy.

David Hopkins of Atchison was on yet another patrol with fellow soldiers in a South Vietnam jungle, plowing through rice patties in a track car.

But on this day, when he saw another mine explode under the vehicle in front of his, it would take the life of his friend, George Compton – or so he believed.  He later watched as the Med-o-Vac helicopter lifted his friend’s lifeless body, with those of several others, off.

That was Dec. 17, 19697, in Cu Chi, Vietnam.

Last weekend here in Atchison, David and George and three other fellow Vietnam veterans met to remember and to heal.

Together, the men and their wives met for four days, sharing stories and filling in the gaps of a time in their lives they wanted only to forget - they thought.

“When David began talking on the phone with George, I could see a change in his personality.  He was upset and quiet after he got off the phone.  Then over time, he changed for the better,” Anita explained.

Unlike a lot of veterans from this unpopular war, David and his wife, Anita, attended reunions of the 25^th Infantry Division in hopes of finding men from his platoon.  The stories and valor of one of these platoons was made into the movie, “Platoon.”

But David was only looking for men like himself who had buried memories.

Three years ago, at a reunion in Nashville, in walked George, very much alive.  He immediately recognized David and crossed the room in a jog to hug him.  Their journey leading up to this past weekend had begun.

David and George were determined to find other men like themselves.  Two years ago, they found John Klosterman, of Kalamazoo, Mich., at a similar reunion.  He and his wife also traveled to Atchison last week.  And for the first time in 40 years, the three were reunited here with Mike Rounds, of upstate New York, and Jack Hendrick and wife, Judy, of Salem, Ill.

The men remembered one another from serving on some of the same operations.

“But we didn’t maintain any deep friendships though because the next day that person would be gone,” Jack explained.  “Death every day.  We did our job and tried not to get emotionally attached.”

George agreed.

“We were alone in a crowd,” he said.

Of the five vets who met this past weekend, George was the most vocal and the most deeply affected by the war.  The injuries he sustained the day David saw him thrown from the car were extensive – fractured spine, broken ankles, shrapnel around the eyes and internal injuries.  He is now on disability and suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“I began looking up guys from my unit out of selfishness,” George said quietly.  “I am still haunted by the memories of those who died.  So I decided, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat to see some guys who actually made it?’”

Jack agreed.

“I always felt guilty that I came home without a scar,” he said with tears in his eyes.

Jack had a photo of himself holding his helmet with a large hole in it.

“My mother sent me a prayer scarf that I wore every day.  I believe that is why that bullet didn’t kill me,” he said, pointing to the picture.

During their Atchison weekend together, the men also traveled to Netawaka, Kan., to see the grave of Danny J. Peterson, Medal of Honor winner from Horton, who was killed in 1970.

“We wanted to remember and honor him,” David said.

Peterson was killed after carrying a wounded comrade 45 meters to safety and then continued to take enemy fire while defending his friend.

“But for those of us that did make it back, we weren’t welcomed home with parades and fanfare, like men and women were after World War II,” George concluded.  “The war was misunderstood here, and people hated us over there.”

David nodded in agreement.

“I remember hearing, ‘G.I. go home.’”

The weekend he spent with his fellow veterans felt like the welcome he never received.  He was home.