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Leo Breeden and John Gibbons of Texas hadn't seen each other since they served together as Marines in Vietnam.
Leo Breeden (right) and his wife, Lillian, missed the first reunion of his Vietnam Marine battalion. This year, (from left) John Gibbons of Texas, Mike Gregorio of North Carolina and Dominic Penna of Texas, came to him since the reunion is in Fredericksburg. |
BY JONAS BEALS
The names flowed from their mouths like they were neighborhoods across town: Chu Lai, Da Nang, Dong Ha.
Forty years later, Spotsylvania resident Leo Breeden met four other Vietnam War veterans for the first time since they shared a battalion on the other side of the world. The stories and memories came easily.
"That was me 80 pounds ago," said 64-year-old John Gibbons as he looked at photos. "I weighed 145 when I came back from Vietnam."
Much has changed since their time together in the Marine Corps, but all five men were still clearly devoted to one another--brothers forever in the 7th Motor Transport Battalion, Company A.
Those men--many of them teenagers at the time--were the lifeline of the Marine Corps during the war. Along supply routes, they drove hulking trucks loaded with soldiers, food, ammunition and anything else that made the fighting possible.
In convoys protected by roof-mounted 50-caliber machine guns, these men spent their days crawling along dirt roads--sitting ducks for guerrilla groups lurking in the trees. Breeden, 63, and Dominic Penna, 61, recalled stashing sandbags on the floorboards as insurance against gunfire and explosions as they drove Highway 9, otherwise known as "Ambush Alley."
Along with gut-wrenching stories of lost friends and selfless sacrifice, there were lighter moments.
The group--which also included Mike Gregorio, 61, and Jack Casey, 74--shared fond memories of warm beer, C rations and stale, bug-infested bread. They revived old complaints about helmets and flack jackets. They commiserated over unbearable superiors and spoke reverently of brothers who never made it home.
Until last year, most of those stories were locked in the hearts and heads of the individuals who lived them. Most of the members of the "Flying A Roughriders" didn't even know how to get in touch with one another.
Gibbons, who lives in Sulphur Springs, Texas, went to Amarillo to visit Casey. The visit went well, and the two started working the phones to turn up old friends. It was slow going at first.
"It's hard to remember a lot of full names after so many years," Gibbons said. "But we would call, and the person on the other end would say 'I've been waiting on this call for 40 years.'"
Last year, they had their first official reunion in Texas; 21 Marines made the trip. This year, they held their reunion in Fredericksburg, with trips to the National Mall and the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Twenty-four marines posted.
"It's been the most wonderful thing," Gibbons said. "I had been missing something all these years. My circle is now complete."
As the reunion group expands, they have compiled an impressive archive of photos, letters and clippings form the war. They even have a Web site that tells their stories.
The five men who met in Spotsylvania had been in touch via the Internet. Breeden has a medical condition that makes it difficult for him to travel, so his friends stopped by to see him.
He had never met some of them, but he recognized Penna the moment he got out of his car. Forty years disappeared in one long hug.
"The best medicine I've ever had is this right now--talking to friends and family," Breeden said. "When you guys came in, my heart was in my throat. I loved that."
Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: jbeals@freelancestar.com
