Best Friends and Vietnam-era Vets on Their Shared Sisterhood
Sue McConnell and Kristyn Weed are best friends and Vietnam-era veterans. Although they didn’t serve in the war together, they share a story of courage — on and off the battlefield.
At StoryCorps, they talked about their other shared sisterhood.
Top photo: Sue McConnell (left) and Kristyn Weed at their StoryCorps interview in Tucson, Arizona. By Mia Warren for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Sue McConnell (left) and Kristyn Weed are regulars at Denny’s in Tucson, Arizona, where the best friends say they often talk for hours. Courtesy of Kristyn Weed.
A version of this story aired June 30, 2018, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. It was rebroadcast on August 17, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Friends from Elementary School Reunited on a Battlefield in Vietnam
Vince Cantu and Joe Galloway, both 76, first met each other in third grade in the mile-wide town of Refugio, Texas. After they graduated as part of a class of just 55 kids in 1959, Joe left town to pursue journalism, and the two lost track of each other over the years.
Vince and Joe came to StoryCorps in Austin, Texas, to recall the moment they reunited in a place they didn’t expect during the Vietnam War.
In November 1965, Joe Galloway snapped this photo of his childhood friend Vince Cantu during the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley without realizing who was pictured. Vince was rushing to pick up the body of an American soldier to transport him home. The photo would ultimately run in several magazines, an illustration of the cost of war.
Years after the war ended, Joe was decorated with a Bronze Star Medal for rescuing soldiers during the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. His is the only medal the U.S. Army awarded to a civilian for actions in combat during the Vietnam War.
Joe and Vince remain good friends to this day.
Top Photo: Joe Galloway (L) and Vince Cantu at their StoryCorps interview in 2016 in Austin, Texas.
Bottom Photo: Vince Cantu rushes to pick up the body of an American soldier during the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965. Photo Courtesy Getty Images.
Originally aired February 24, 2018, on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Military Voices Initiative: Great Questions
Early Days in the Service
- When were you drafted or when did you enlist?
- What do you remember about the day you enlisted?
- How did you tell your family and friends that you were joining the military? Are there any conversations that stand out from that time?
- If you enlisted, what were some of the reasons that you joined the military? How did you choose your branch of service?
- How did you imagine military life before you joined? How did your perceptions change after serving?
- What was basic training like?
- Can you describe a funny moment from boot camp?
- What are some of the things you remember about adapting to military life?
Deployment
- Where did you serve during the war?
- If you deployed overseas, how did you tell your loved ones you were being deployed?
- How did you stay in touch with family and friends back home?
- What are some things you remember most about your deployment?
- If you saw multiple deployments, how did they differ from each other? How did you change?
- Can you describe how you felt coming home from combat?
- Was there anything you especially missed about civilian life?
Transitioning to Civilian Life
- Is there someone you served with that you remember fondly? Can you tell me about him/her?
- What are some fun things you and your friends did together while you were deployed?
- Did any of your military friends play pranks on each other? Can you describe a funny one?
- Did you ever get caught breaking any rules? Did you ever get away with something you weren’t supposed to do?
- Did you ever learn something about a fellow service member that surprised you?
- When did you leave the military? What was that process like?
- What were your first few months out of the service like?
- Was there anything or anyone that helped you during the transition from military to civilian life?
- Do you have advice for others transitioning out of the military?
- How do you think your time in the military affected you?
- What did you learn about yourself?
- What are some of your hopes for the future?
- What phrase or word will never be the same now that you served?
- When you were first discharged, what are some things about civilians that were difficult for you to deal with?
- Is there anything you wish civilians understood about military service?
- What are some habits you developed in the service that you like? What are some that you dislike?
- What are some things you miss about being in the service? What are some you are glad to have left behind?
MARRIAGE, PARTNERSHIPS, AND FAMILIES
- How did you meet your husband/wife/partner?
- What was your first impression of him/her/them?
- How did you know that he/she/they was right for you?
- What were some the best time in your relationship?
- What were some of the difficult times? How did you deal with them?
- What has been difficult to communicate to family and friends about your
military service? - Do you have advice for other military couples?
- If you have children, what do you want them to know about your military
service?
Remembering the Fallen
- What was your relationship to _______?
- Tell me about _______.
- What did _______ look like?
- What is one of your favorite memories of _______?
- How did you find out about _______’s death?
- What has helped you most in your grief?
- Do you have any traditions to honor _______?
- Do you have any funny stories about the two of you together?
Tom’s War
After being drafted in 1969, Tom Geerdes served as an Army medic in the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Like many veterans, he returned home a changed man. At StoryCorps, Tom shared his long journey toward healing with his daughter, Hannah Campbell.
Click here to listen to Tom and Hannah’s original StoryCorps interview.
Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.”
Philip and Andy
In 2014, we heard a conversation between Paul Braun, a sergeant in the Minnesota National Guard, and the interpreter he served with in Iraq, who goes by the name Philip — a moniker bestowed on him by American soldiers because he favored Philip Morris cigarettes.
In Iraq, former interpreters’ lives are in constant danger because of their association with American soldiers. So Braun helped sponsor Philip’s immigration to the U.S., and at the time of their interview, they were living together in Minneapolis.
But Philip had to leave his wife and four children behind in Iraq. He spent three years attempting to obtain visas for them so they could join him in Minnesota, even putting his life at risk by traveling back to Iraq in 2014.
Finally, in October 2016, the visas came through, and now Philip’s family — including his nephew, Andy, who was also an interpreter — are adjusting to life in the U.S. Two months after his family’s arrival, Philip came back to StoryCorps to give Andy some advice on adjusting to his new home.
You can learn more about Philip’s story in the 2015 documentary The Interpreter.
Originally broadcast February 3, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Bottom photo: Philip with his wife, Ghania, the day she arrived in Minneapolis. Photo by Sameer Saadi.
Frank Curre
On December 7, 1941, 2,403 Americans died when hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.
Frank Curre, who enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 years old, was a cook aboard the USS Tennessee, and at StoryCorps he shared his memories of that day.
Frank died on December 7, 2011, the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was 88 years old.
Frank’s story is one in a series of real-life stories presented by StoryCorps and Upworthy reminding us #WhoWeAre—everyday Americans speaking to our best selves.
Click here to listen to Frank’s original StoryCorps interview.
StoryCorps and Upworthy, the mission-driven media company that reaches more than 200 million people each month, have joined forces to launch #WhoWeAre, a campaign to share the stories of everyday Americans, build compassion, and offer hope to a divided nation. #WhoWeAre calls on Americans to reach across perceived divides and listen to one another.
Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Duery Felton and Rick Weidman
Every day since it officially opened in November 1982, visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. have left tributes to those whose names are engraved on The Wall: medals, dog tags, clothing, and other objects they associate with friends, loved ones, and fellow service members.
The Memorial Wall is under the supervision of the National Park Service, and when Duery Felton learned that park rangers were collecting and storing this huge collection of items, he became a volunteer in order to see them for himself. Eventually he was offered a full-time position as the first curator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection, a job he held for 28 years before retiring in 2014.
Duery, who served in Vietnam, came to StoryCorps with his friend and fellow war veteran, Rick Weidman (pictured together above), to discuss what drew him to the wall, and to talk about his service during the Vietnam War.
Click here to view a gallery of some of the more than 400,000 items left by visitors to The Wall.
Originally aired November 12, 2016, on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Hartmut Lau and Barbara Lau
After graduating from West Point in 1967, Hartmut Lau was given a choice to serve his active duty in either the United States or Europe. He volunteered to go to Vietnam.
With the U.S. escalating its involvement in the Vietnam War, and the draft still two years away, Hartmut joined the Army’s 9th Infantry Division during one of the war’s worst years of combat. In 1968, American casualties peaked at 16,899, and 29 of Hartmut’s 589 fellow cadets from the class of ’67 were killed.
In 1991, after 24 years of service, Hartmut retired at the rank of colonel having been awarded the Silver Star Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Purple Heart. Five years later, he met his wife, Barbara.
Over the course of their 20-year marriage, he has shared with her stories about his time at West Point, but Hartmut had never before spoken to Barbara about his service during the Vietnam War—until they came to StoryCorps.
Originally aired November 11, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Lou Olivera and Joe Serna
In 2013, Green Beret Sergeant Joe Serna retired from the Army after more than 18 years of service that included three tours of duty in Afghanistan and numerous awards including two Purple Hearts. Returning to North Carolina to be with his wife and children, he found adjusting to civilian life difficult.
In 2014, following a DWI arrest, Joe’s case was assigned to the Cumberland County Veterans Treatment Court. After a probation violation, District Court Judge Lou Olivera (above left), an Army veteran who served during the Gulf War, sentenced Joe to a night in jail.
Joe was with three other soldiers in Afghanistan in 2008 when their armored truck flipped over and landed in a river. It quickly filled with water and Joe was the only survivor. Knowing Joe’s history and how difficult it would be for him to spend an evening confined, Judge Olivera decided to spend the night with Joe in his jail cell.
At StoryCorps, they reflect upon the night they spent together, the difficult memories that being sentenced brought back, and the relationship they have formed since.
Originally aired October 14, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Above photo courtesy of Joe Serna.
Jenna Henderson and Laurie Laychak
On June 17, 2007, Army Sgt. First Class Chris Henderson and two other soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvee in Afghanistan.
Chris enlisted in the Army during his senior year of high school, and soon after graduating in June 1991; he went off to boot camp. He spent more than 15 years in the military serving tours of duty in Bosnia and Kosovo, and was still in uniform when the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, occurred.
A month later, in October 2001, Operation Enduring Freedom began and in January 2007, Chris was deployed to the Kandahar Province in Afghanistan where he was part of a team working to help train Afghan National Army forces. Chris was killed on Father’s Day of that year; he was 35 years old. He is survived by his wife, Jenna Henderson, and his 8-year-old daughter, Kayley.
Jenna and Chris met while in their 20s and had been married for seven years before he was killed. The family lived together in Fort Lewis, Washington, where Chris was based. He was a loving husband and a devoted father, and Jenna says, a total goofball. She remembers coming home to find Chris and 18-month-old Kayley in their bathing suits playing in mud puddles or riding on Chris’ motorcycle. The two were inseparable.
Now 18, Kayley bears a striking resemblance to her father. “When she’s upset, her little eyebrow twitches,” says Jenna, “And when she smiles, she’s kind of got that little crooked smile he had.” She has even participated in Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) at her high school and is hoping to soon get her motorcycle license.
Jenna still misses Chris terribly and holds on to one of the last letters she received from him. “In it he said, how much he loved me and how he was glad that he had married me, and that he wouldn’t have changed that for the world.”
Jenna came to StoryCorps with Laurie Laychak (left), a mentor she met through the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) — an organization that offers compassionate care to those grieving the death of a loved one serving in the Armed Forces—to share memories of Chris.
Originally aired September 3, 2016, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.