May 1, 2001


Dear Frank:


It was so nice of you to write me. I was so touched by your kind words. I would like to continue getting the newsletter and am sending you a check to cover the subscription.

My Bob and the rest of you "Rangers" have been in my thoughts almost constantly the past few weeks with all the articles, questions, probing, comments on Senator Bob Kerry's actions in Vietnam. My heart goes out to him and those who served in the Seals. I don't know a lot of things, but I do know that the Rangers were involved in similar type activities.. small groups, dropped into enemy territory, expected to not be discovered and get out alive (24-48 hours later). I'm sure there are plenty of stories you all could tell. Bob told me that you never knew who the enemy was... it could be a child, young woman, old women/men... The war zone was not clearly defined and how that war was fought did not follow standard procedure.. .if there is such a thing. Particularly, if you didn't know who the enemy was???

Perhaps all the hype and news is rampant here in Omaha, because Bob Kerry is from Nebraska. So excuse my comments if you've not been aware of all the publicity around this. I'm sure for most Vietnam vets this flurry of inquiry has opened up many memories to wounds that would be better forgotten. I'm sure Bob would be very angry at some of the questions and thoughts the public has now about what happened back then. You risked your lives and this is the thanks you get??? The last group Bob served missions with, were all killed a couple of weeks after he left Vietnam.

Thanks again for taking the time to write. I don't remember what I told you, but Bob and I would have been married 25 years in December and he was killed July 30, 1987. He was an Ironworker out of Local 67, Des Moines, Iowa. He was a supervisor and had a crew working in Osceola, Iowa, building a Jimmy Dean plant when he fell 14 feet. The building was being erected over a plowed field. When he fell, he hit the concrete pad around the steel column. Had he lit 6-12 inches away, he would have landed in soft, plowed dirt. But, it didn't happen that way. He died Instantly. He landed on his head/shoulder. His neck was broken and his shoulder blade pierced his heart. He may have left us in physical form, but has never really left. Michelle (our daughter) said she dreamed the other night that her Dad was standing in the hall outside their bedroom door, holding Austin (her 6 year old son) and they were playing together.


You are so correct, our lives are tangled together whether we know it or not. It is so nice to share a piece of my life with you. Every time I get a new newsletter, I look through for names/faces I might recognize. He did stay in touch with some of the guys he served with and we even visited a few times. I can't remember their names, but am sure I would recognize them if I saw them again. 

Take care! You are blessed!