A Note today from my good friend and Brother In Arms Ed Kostuik:
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Air Force Capt. Darrell J. Spinler of Browns Valley, Minn., will be buried on June 18 near his hometown. On June 21, 1967, Spinler was aboard an A-1E Skyraider aircraft attacking enemy targets along the Xekong River in Laos when villagers reported hearing an explosion before his aircraft crashed. The pilot of another A-1E remained in the area for more than two hours but saw no sign of Spinler.
In 1993, a joint U.S.-Laos People’s Democratic Republic team, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed villagers who witnessed the crash. They claimed Spinler’s body was on the river bank after the crash but likely washed away during the ensuing rainy season. The team surveyed the location and found wreckage consistent with Spinler’s aircraft.
In 1995, the U.S. government evaluated Spinler’s case and determined his remains unrecoverable based on witness statements and available evidence. Teams working in the area revisited the location in 1999 and 2003 and confirmed Spinler’s remains had likely been carried away by the Xekong River. However, in 2010, JPAC conducted a full excavation of the location and recovered aircraft wreckage, human remains, crew-related equipment and personal effects.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental x-rays in the identification of Spinler’s remains.
With the accounting of this airman, 1,689 service members still remain missing from the conflict.
Those of us who have served know the meaning of Brothers in Arms, the closeness that you feel for fellow soldiers is something that can't be explained. It is more than a feeling of family, it is a feeling of sameness. We dressed alike, we walked alike and we talked alike. We may have had differences in the things in which we believed, but, when it came to being American Soldiers we all stood for the same thing. As more remains are recovered more little pieces of us are coming home. We may never be whole and we may never be free from the thoughts of those left behind. The one thing we should never be is, ashamed of the fact that Once We Were Soldiers. To those 1,689 left, You Will Not Be Forgotten Brothers in Arms!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
What if?
What if you woke up this morning and found out that everything that you thought was reality had been a dream? The person lying beside you was a stranger, the bed you slept in was different and the people around you were not those that you remembered. Pretty scarey stuff! Just thinking of this makes you realize the importance of all that has gone on before this very minute. Those moments before have made you the person that you are now, without them and the people that you lived them with, you are just a void in the universe.
I try each day to be mindful of those times before and keep them alive in my mind and heart. I try to watch the way that I live my life so the bad parts don't get repeated and the good parts reflect the best of me. I look at those things that others will use to define me and try to keep the parts that bring me shame to a minimum. I don't think that I will ever be important enough for anyone to write my biography, but, if that happens I hope that my beautiful Grand-daughter Haley is the one to hold the pen. I can only strive to be the person that she believes that I am. Funny thing, my life through the eyes of a child is more important to me that anything I have done in the past.
I believe that the reality of who and what we are changes as we pass through life. I think the mortar that holds our lives together is our past and those who have walked the path with us. As we age we find out that people come and go in our lives, I really like it best when they come back into our lives. I was one of those who lost contact with so many friends and aquaintences as I stumbled through my reality, now I am jealous of my friends that remained in contact with many of their childhood buddies. The last couple of years have brought so many back into my life. I love that we have grown older and have become grandparents, I do have to admit that we seem to have mostly matured now and seem to have our lives in order. Those that haven't seem to have slipped off of the map or have just continued relying on the generosity of others to keep them involved.
As I look at my friends, although we have aged, I still see the bright eyed incredulous kids that we were in the 60's. I don't notice the toll that life has taken on each of us, we all know that you can not go through a battle without scars. As I look into the eyes that I have known for most of my life I see the reflections of the times that we have had together. I see the love and tenderness that we feel for each other and I see the hope for more time together. It is truly a wonderful thing to know that no matter how long you have been separated fom certain people you can still connect on such a personal level. As we gather together I watch the years melt away and all I see is a bunch of kids still trying to figure out where we fit in life. If there is one thing that I have learned it is the fact that the where you fit in doesn't matter, it's the who that you are doing the fitting in with that counts.
I try each day to be mindful of those times before and keep them alive in my mind and heart. I try to watch the way that I live my life so the bad parts don't get repeated and the good parts reflect the best of me. I look at those things that others will use to define me and try to keep the parts that bring me shame to a minimum. I don't think that I will ever be important enough for anyone to write my biography, but, if that happens I hope that my beautiful Grand-daughter Haley is the one to hold the pen. I can only strive to be the person that she believes that I am. Funny thing, my life through the eyes of a child is more important to me that anything I have done in the past.
I believe that the reality of who and what we are changes as we pass through life. I think the mortar that holds our lives together is our past and those who have walked the path with us. As we age we find out that people come and go in our lives, I really like it best when they come back into our lives. I was one of those who lost contact with so many friends and aquaintences as I stumbled through my reality, now I am jealous of my friends that remained in contact with many of their childhood buddies. The last couple of years have brought so many back into my life. I love that we have grown older and have become grandparents, I do have to admit that we seem to have mostly matured now and seem to have our lives in order. Those that haven't seem to have slipped off of the map or have just continued relying on the generosity of others to keep them involved.
As I look at my friends, although we have aged, I still see the bright eyed incredulous kids that we were in the 60's. I don't notice the toll that life has taken on each of us, we all know that you can not go through a battle without scars. As I look into the eyes that I have known for most of my life I see the reflections of the times that we have had together. I see the love and tenderness that we feel for each other and I see the hope for more time together. It is truly a wonderful thing to know that no matter how long you have been separated fom certain people you can still connect on such a personal level. As we gather together I watch the years melt away and all I see is a bunch of kids still trying to figure out where we fit in life. If there is one thing that I have learned it is the fact that the where you fit in doesn't matter, it's the who that you are doing the fitting in with that counts.
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