2 Responses

1. 

   Debra Reed-Prewitt May 31, 2024 at 12:51 am

   It cost Ron a lot to talk about the events of that day. He’s carried the guilt around for decades, but so have many others. Survivor’s guilt is a real thing and a component of PTSD. Some make it through and some never do, but I think everyone who ever set foot in that country bears the fallout of their sojourn there to some degree. Not all scars are visible, and not everyone got a medal for the wounds they still bear. I’m glad that he opened up a bit about this event in order to give answers to the family of a man to whom he felt he owed a debt. I’m glad I could play my small part in it, because I saw some relief in his eyes, and I know what it’s meant to the Laird family. I’m often reminded of two songs of that era, Fortunate Son and Teach Your Children Well. There were so many written in that time, but these stand out at least to me as apropos of the times and what was going on here at home as well as over there. I still see homeless veterans in the two major towns near where I live. Old men, young men, dirty, broke, homeless and hopeless. I shake my head and wonder, how the government can allow this. Once they’ve served, then they are forgotten and cast adrift to make or break it on their own as best they can. A lot of political lip service around election time always includes promise after promise, that never comes true. Next time you see a homeless person, swing in and park, ask their name, listen to their story, buy them a meal and leave them a $20 before you go about your life. God still sees them, and us. There’s a saying, “All gave some, some gave all.” I submit, everyone gave all.
2. 

   Laura Laird Spencer October 7, 2023 at 1:31 am

   Jim died 10/31/70.