The First Tour 1967 - 1968

It is difficult to look back on those first tour memories for Jean and me. In many ways looking back, after all these years, it all seems like such a blur with moments of sheer terror for both of us and yet, it also seems like just yesterday.

The challenges we faced were very difficult. Jean had to face the daily grind of life with two small children and being pregnant with our third child. She had to deal with not knowing if I would come home or if I would be seriously injured in combat. Some family and friends tried to be helpful but they just could not relate to what Jean was dealing with. Some family members said things that were hurtful to Jean. They did not intend to hurt Jean they were just not sensitive to what was happening.

Jean tried to work as often as she could even when I was gone. She felt that she needed to keep up her skills as a nurse even if she was only able to work part-time. During the first tour Jean worked part-time as a private duty nurse at various medical facilities near where she was living. She only worked evening and night shifts so she could be with John and Joan during the day. Because she lived so close to her parent's house, her younger siblings were able to walk over to the Vine Street house and babysit for her. It was a great benefit for Jean.

During my first tour Jean and I wrote letters to each other as often as we could. Most, if not all my letters to Jean, a total of 121 letters, have been preserved and are in plastic folders in chronological order stored in a three-ring binder which we have in a cabinet in our guest room. My letters indicate that I received many letters from Jean but we do not have any of her first tour letters to me. I can only speculate that for whatever reason, I did not bring them home with me or they were lost in the many moves we made over the years. Interestingly, all of Jean's letters to me during the second tour are preserved but there are very few of mine to Jean.

Reading our personal letters from that period provides an insight on what we were going through. We both tried to keep the letters "newsy" without me going into details of my daily combat situation. In late December I did share with Jean that I had been shot down and was going to receive the Silver Star, but I did not know when I would be awarded the medal and I did not give much detail at that time.

My book "THUNDER: Stories From the First Tour," captures a great deal of my combat tour but it does not capture the day to day living Jean endured. The book does describe a very terrifying incident for Jean when a military vehicle showed up in front of the house. The two uniformed soldiers came to the door and Jean was sure they were notifying her of my death in combat. They did not know I was in Vietnam and were there to check on a claim for damaged furniture. The reaction of Jean after notifying them that her husband was in Vietnam brought both in to support her and to apologize for their failure to call first. That memory holds great pain for Jean even to this day.

For those who have not read "THUNDER" and would like to read it, I put a pdf version as a link at the end of this article.

This is a picture of Joanie in late 1967 or early 1968.

This is a picture of John at his two-year-old birthday party in the house we rented for Jean on Vine Street in Pawtucket R.I. The little Vine Street house was one block over from Jean's parent's house on Warwick Road which was a huge blessing for her.

Jean has fond memories of my sister Fran Dwyer calling regularly as a support person. Fran also took in John and Joannie when Jean had a chance to meet me on R & R in Hawaii. Jean was seven months pregnant with Jim when she flew to Hawaii. She got permission from her doctor to make the trip, but some thought she was being reckless. I am enormously thankful that we had that time together.

When Jean arrived in Hawaii, she, along with the other wives, was taken to a large room at Fort DeRussy in Honolulu. Fort DeRussy was beside the hotel we were going to be staying in. When the husbands arrived, we were taken to the large room to meet with our wife. It was an incredible reunion for both Jean and me.

Unfortunately, there was a very sad moment when we became aware that there was a young wife there waiting for her husband when she was informed her husband had been killed. Apparently, there was not enough time to inform the wife before she got on the plane to come to Hawaii. Here are some pictures of our R & R in Hawaii. Jean was seven months pregnant with Jim.

Fr. Gilles Genest was a close friend and another valuable support person for Jean. Some people just did not know what to say so they avoided reaching out to Jean. There were several friends and family members who prayed for my safe return. I know our parents were praying for us both. One of the most notable groups was the Poor Clare Monastery where Jean's twin sister Joan was a cloistered nun. Joan later told the story that they were often asked to pray for men going to Vietnam and since they never heard what happened they presumed the worst.

This picture was taken in early July1968 at the Poor Clare Monastery. Jean's Mom, Claire, was holding Jim with Joanie standing on a chair beside her. You can see her Dad's hand (Roland Savoie) reaching out to Joanie, and you can see Jean's twin Joan standing behind the grate.

I received a number of awards during my first tour in Vietnam. There were a number of award ceremonies where these medals were presented by a senior officer in the chain of command. Often they were general officers. In this picture, taken at Camp Holloway on August 10th 1968, I was receiving the Silver Star (SS) along with four other members of my platoon. In the row behind us, those men all received the Distinquished Flying Cross which I had received at an earlier ceremony. The man directly to my right was Lt. Johnny Shelton, one of my team leaders, and his UH-1 crew. They were receiving the SS for their actions when they were shot down during a combat assault west of Dak To. I was the first aircraft in that day but was not shot down. Johnny was behind me. They fought there way to another LZ where I later flew in and rescued them. I did not receive any recognition for that action. I received the SS for my actions on December 12th 1967 when I was shot down on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos flying a rescue mission for the top secret SOG mission. All of these combat actions are described in some detail in my book "THUNDER".

After the award ceremony that day, I was told by the general's aid that my platoon was the most decorated assault helicopter platoon in Vietnam.

Jean and I are incredibly thankful that we both survived that Vietnam War tour and believe it was a miracle that I came home in October of 1968 without any physical wounds. We have often reflected how different life would have been for us and our family if I had come home seriously wounded or worse, that I was killed in combat.

Jean remembers that during that tour she had to endure whatever came her way. She remembers her sister Carol saying to her "How do you stand it?" Jean's response was "What choice do I have?" She remained true to her commitment to our children and her commitment to our marriage throughout this difficult period.

Jean also remembers a time when she was standing in the kitchen at the Vine Street house and being extremely frustrated with her circumstances and saying out loud "I have to remember that I am doing the best I can." Those words reflect her commitment in the performance of her duty to her children and to her husband.

We have often said that the "fire" we both went through in the war years has made us stronger to face the challenges of life. The statement I have often made to our children is "out of hot fire comes good steel." That certainly applies to our lives.

When I returned home we packed up the family and headed to Fort Rucker Alabama for my next assignment.

Please feel free to download a PDF copy of
"THUNDER: Stories From the First Tour"