10 Years Ago 1997

Thanks to the new sewer project, both Helping Hands and the Arlington Food Bank have moved to new digs. The move, one block toward Haller Park, not only did not interrupt service, it increased parking space and includes a river view, too. Manager Edna Kilmer is just glad to see it over. Terry Castle, Arlington Utilities Superintendent, expedited the process, trying to make the move as smooth as possible. The entire city of Arlington is responsible for maintaining both programs, he said. Castle, who has been involved in the entire process, said it started slowly several years ago with the voluntary purchase of property on West Cox Street. Over the years, eventually all but one property has been acquired by the city for building of the Secondary Treatment Plant. Castle laughs as he points out what their community did together. This isnt just the city government, he said. He lists some of the volunteers, crossing his fingers, hoping not to forget anybody, Don Wright and Herb Hower from the Lions Club did a lot of the finishing work, Bill Moe did a lot of the painting, Tom Reeves installed flooring and Bill Robinson did a lot of the little things. Kilmer scrunches her face as she remembers another important helper. Oh, Hills Appliance helped move all those refrigerators and appliances, too. The Food Bank helps up to 300 people a month, though some are repeats, due to lower incomes than others. Due to the large service area, encompassing Arlington High School District, a large array of companies and individuals help keep the Food Bank going. We have nearly 30 people a week who come down and do various things such as bagging and stocking shelves, Kilmer said. But it is the donations coming from both individuals and companies that keep the shelves stocked. The BP gas station donates fast food items that are still eatable but with expired dates, she said. And with the bread products donated from Thriftys, Safeway and the San Juan Bakery, people are really thankful. In addition to food, personal hygiene items, such as toothpaste and razors, also are needed. And cash can always be used to buy items that arent donated. We dont turn anything down, Kilmer said. She gestures to the Walnut Oil. Somebody is always going to use it. Its just a matter of time, she said.

25 Years Ago 1982

Its traditional. The reunion, traditional, even when the war wasnt. But the men who fought the war were conventional and 15 years later, when they gathered early in August in St. Louis, Mo., it was to reaffirm their normalcy. They once were ordinary young men who in their time saw their duty clear. They heard their country call and eagerly answered that summons. They were volunteers. They were Marines. Fifteen years later, the survivors came together in that mid-western city to share memories of their time back then and the time since. The eight men were all that were left of the original Third Squad, First Platoon, Delta Company, First Battalion, First Marines. They came for the reunion from all over the United States. One of these former Marines, Michael Cox, traveled all the way from Finn Settlement Road, north of Bryant, to join his friends. Cox and his wife, Nancy, were in fact the instigators of the reunion. In many ways they had suffered the most because of the war. And together they had found their own solution to the aftermath. A solution they wanted to share with the survivors of third squad. Michael and Nancy had been married two years when he joined the Marines in 1966. They knew there was a war going on and they knew the risks. They also knew, they said, their responsibilities. Michael said he says the same thing now he said then, I had 24 years of the best life anyone could have and I owed that to the men who had fought in all the wars before me. A cynic might say the third squads political perspective was naive. Cox would agree to a point, although he might prefer the term, idealistic. There was one kid in third squad, he said, who didnt know there was a war on when he joined up. But he was an exception. The others all signed up to fight for the freedom of South Vietnam, said Cox. It was an opportunity denied to them. We had the impression our government was going to back us, that we were going to win, he said, but the politicians of that day sold us out. They wouldnt let us fight the war. It would have been over in three years and South Vietnam would have been free and less people would have been killed. The third squads operational area was about 20 miles south of DaNang in the Horseshoe, centered near the village of Hoi An. Cox arrived in October of 1966 and was carried out on the 5th of July, 1967, after almost 10 months of continuous close combat and as Cox remembers clearly, three showers, five hot meals, two purple hearts and more battle wounds then he cares to recall. In those 10 months, 47 men were rotated through the third squad. Seven died. All but one were wounded and most earned two to three purple hearts, he said. Cox received his first purple heart from a nearby grenade explosion, the consequences of which he casually dismisses as mere powder burns and a concussion. On the groups last day in combat they walked into a well-prepared ambush. A series of discarded American artillery shells duds had been buried beneath a jungle trail. Re-armed and connected by wires, the shells were exploded by remote control. All but that one lucky man were wounded seriously. The corpsman behind Cox apologized to his comrades because he couldnt help them. He couldnt move. He died there. The North Vietnamese charged what was left of the squad. The enemy were met by a hail of automatic weapons fire from the wounded Marines. It stopped them dead. Cox didnt contribute much to that last assault. He absorbed it. Cox received 36 shrapnel wounds between his knees and his waist. Both legs were broken, as was his left arm. He was also shot in both arms. Doctors removed a pound and a half of shrapnel from his body not quite all of it. Cox spent three years in military and veterans administration hospitals. Eventually, he lost his left leg. He has had numerous operations. The last one was in June. Coxs adjustment to a painful and restricted life was eased considerably, he said, by the support of his wife, Nancy. Eight years ago they became born again Christians, and everything just fell into place, said Nancy. It gave us peace. That made it all worth it to me, said Michael. Their relationship has allowed them to share not only the healing years, but also the memories of the war. Some of the men at the reunion, she said, had never spoken to their wives or their parents about Vietnam. They just couldnt open up. Last year, Michael and Nancy drove across the country to visit the veterans of the third squad. While they had kept in contact by mail, none of the group had seen each other since 1967. The idea for the reunion sprang from the Coxes trip. The gathering in St. Louis began as might be expected, with talk of their war. We talked about back then, but we each remembered the battles from our own perspective, Michael said. Later, the conversation shifted to our families, jobs and the problems of Vietnam veterans. But most of us hadnt had problems. It was a hard adjustment for us but we did it. Not all veterans are kooks like you see on TV. We are average family men, everyday guys just going about their lives. One of the veterans is a policeman, another a banker A third is an electrician, and one is the warden of a small prison. Michael Cox, the most seriously wounded of the group, is on 100 percent retirement. He performs volunteer Christian work in prisons. Nancy volunteers at The Living Word, a Christian bookstore in Smokey Point. Together, they take prison parolees into their home. The reunion was fun and a lot of the group needed it, said Michael. For some of them, whenever they would think about Vietnam, all they would see was the fighting. The reunion helped put that behind them. We can now see each other with our wives and families. The wives, too, found the reunion therapeutic. Whether their husbands had wanted it or not, they had shred in the after-affects of the war. It was as if the wives had always known each other, said Nancy. Politically, the men found they had all grown more conservative, more interested in their families and less concerned with material things. They also had another thing in common. Given the same set of circumstances and a government prepared to support its soldiers, all of them would go again, to fight again.

50 Years Ago 1957

Plans for the long awaited trek to Kennedy Hot Springs were finalized Wednesday evening by members of Explorer Post No. 29. Approximately 10 boys will be leaving Friday afternoon with Post Adviser Henry Campbell. The will be accompanied by Dr. and Mrs. Sam Nebel, their family and several Horizon Girls. Scheduled is a short hike to Fire Creek Pass, fishing at Lake Byrne and soaking in the hot springs. Jack Smith, Jim Jeffreys, Curtis Holmes, Charles Warren and Leigh Brendemuhl joined a party of Seattle Mountaineers Aug. 25 and made the ascent of Mt. Pugh, 7, 151 feet. This followed an earlier climb of Pugh by Asst. Adviser Jack Sturgeon, Jim Jeffreys and Henry Campbell. Other major climbs by this group during the summer have included Mt. Adams, Mt. Whitechuck and Mt. Rainier. Jack Sturgeon recently climbed Glacier Peak in two days a trip not recommended for the novice.