The first brave group of attendees in Atlanta
Eddie Hancock and the impressions of his first reunion.
TREE AND MYSELF STARTED OUT A YEAR AND A HALF BEFORE OUR FIRST REUNION AND BEGAN TO PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF NAMES THAT OUR FEEBLE (AT THE TIME) MEMORIES COULD MUSTER UP FROM OUR TOURS, AND AS TREE WAS MY MENTOR (GOD ONLY KNOWS HOW I SURVIVED THAT) OUR LIST WERE HEAVILY LADEN WITH 2ND PLATOON 2ND SQUAD NAMES SO IT MADE THE FIRST REUNION EVEN MORE SPECIAL FOR US SINCE WE HAD SERVED DIRECTLY WITH MOST OF THE MEN THAT WE HAD FOUND! WHAT WAS REALLY REMARKABLE WAS THAT ONCE WE WERE THERE THAT IT DIDN’T MATTER WHETHER IT WAS 66’ OR 70’ THAT YOU WERE IN COMPANY ‘C’ WE WERE ALL BROTHERS AND IT SHOWED IN THE LOVE AND CARING THAT EMERGED FROM OUR GATHERING! I WAS CLOSE IN NAM TO MOST OF THE GUYS BUT I AM NOW CLOSER WITH ALL THE GUYS AND THEIR FAMILIES!
I CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO TELL YOU THE EMOTIONAL FEELINGS THAT SPRANG UP IN ME WHEN I WOULD SEE A FACE COME THROUGH THE DOOR THAT I SOMEWHAT RECOGNIZED FROM THE PAST THEN THE VOICE CAME OUT AND IT WAS INSTANT RECOGNITION AND THE HOURS SITTING EATING, DRINKING AND GOING OVER ALL THE YEARS WE HAD MISSED OUT ON BEING TOGETHER, NOT TELLING WAR STORIES OR TALKING OF OUR BAD TIMES BUT ALL THE GOOD TIMES WE HAD FROM A YEAR IN HELL!
THEN THERE WAS THE TOUCHING STORIES LIKE JOE ROUDEBOUSH BEING HIT ON HIS FIRST DAY WITH THE COMPANY AND HOW HE CAME TO FIND THE GUY WHO SAVED HIS LIFE SINCE HE WASN’T THERE LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW HIS NAME……..AND HE DID FIND HIM……..IT MADE THE WHOLE REUNION WORTHWHILE! THE WAY I EXPLAINED IT TO JOE WAS THAT WE VIEW THIS AS A FRATERNITY, IF YOU SERVED IN COMPANY ‘C’ ONE MINUTE OR ONE YEAR YOU ARE IN FOR LIFE, AND WHEN THE WAR ENDED CO. ‘C’ BECAME A CLOSED FRATERNITY!!!!
IN CLOSING LET ME SAY THAT IF YOU ARE AFRAID TO COME FOR FEAR OF BRINGING UP BAD THINGS FROM THE PAST THEN COME AND LET THE SPIRIT OF BROTHERHOOD KILL THAT FEAR! TRUST ME THESE HAVE BEEN THE BEST SEVEN YEARS SINCE I LEFT NAM BECAUSE I HAVE ALL MY COMPANY ‘C’ FAMILY TO LEAN ON! THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING FAMILY, I LOVE YOU GUYS!
EDDIE HANCOCK
SEPT 69’-SEPT 70’
REUNION ATLANTA 2000
Robert Hutton's impressions of his first reunion.
The impressions that come to mind, when I first found out that
there was going to be a company reunion, were both excitement and
apprehension at the same time. The excitement was because I always
remembered, as I'm sure most of us do, what a great bunch of guys I was
with when the chips were down and we counted on one another to cover
each other's backs. I felt that that couldn't have changed, even after
all these years. But the apprehension was that I didn't know how
formal, (or, as we used to say,"strap"), this kind of occasion would
be. Would it be easy going and relaxed, or would it be prim with a
firm handshake? Being a shy, quiet sort, that kind of thing always
tends to unnerve me. I can even remember the butterflies I had in my
stomach as we pulled up to the hotel, in Atlanta, Georgia, where the
first reunion was being held.
Well, I have to say that, when my wife and I first walked into that
hotel room and saw all the guys laughing and joking, all my
apprehensions melted away. It was amazing, because, even though the
majority of guys were from other platoons than the one I was in, (the
1st platoon), and different years from when I was with the company,
they made me feel as if they were old friends I'd seen just yesterday.
And they did the same for my wife. We both felt totally at ease.
I think the one thing that struck me most was not only that we
called each other "brother", but that it wasn't just something we were
saying because it sounded good. If you've never been to one of the
reunions and can get there, it will be a most pleasant experience to
feel how much all of these guys seem like they're part of your own
family. I remember talking with guys, at the first reunion, and even
at all the ones after that, and saying,"Isn't this a neat feeling, this
feeling of brotherhood?" And they'd answer, not only with a smile on
their lips, but in their eyes too, "Ya know, it really is. It's
absolutely wonderful." And it doesn't matter, in the least, if you
were an officer or an enlisted man. Those barriers from back then
don't exist at the reunion. We truly are all brothers.
So, if you're thinking about whether of not you want to attend the next one, because of that bit of apprehension, always remember, we all went through the same thing, so we understand.
Please don't let it prevent you from discovering the time of your
life. I am so thrilled that I did. And the same holds true for the
wives. They totally understand each other and that it hasn't always
been easy living with guys who went through what we did. They will
make newly attending wives feel right at home with them. I am truly
looking forward to seeing you all again at the next one.
Robert A. Hutton
Tall Comanche Six-India