Go deep enough and there is a bedrock of truth

It always comes back to the same necessity: go deep enough and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard.

MAY SARTON  Did he know my Brother CWO Barry Alexander KIA in Vietnam in 1969, YouTube Body Bags and Dogtags, a tribute to CWO Barry Alexander?     Mon, Jun 15, 2020 10:41 am Ronreunite (ronreunite@aol.com) Thanks again for your response. Hi, This is Viking CPT Brian Reiss Could you confirm the date? I flew in Vietnam in early 68 to early 69. . Sorry, the credit took so long to be recognized. I had a DFC chase me for almost 3 years. Sometimes the wheels of progress move slowly. Brian Reiss, CPT, USAR, FA, Ret. CWO Barry Alexander was killed June !969, thanks for replying. And trained with  Lt. Col. Larry Dandridge, who includes him in his book. Watch YouTube Body Bags and Dogtags, a tribute to CWO Barry Alexander (a short but powerful story). Sincerely, Ron Alexander. Barry was at Trai Ha Thanh. He had just celebrated his 22nd birthday, had only 2 weeks left, and having already been wounded did not want to go out, however since it was a rescue operation, he went anyway. I think it is an injustice sending Thanks again for your response. Barry was at Trai Ha Thanh. He had just celebrated his 22nd birthday, had only 2 weeks left, and having already been wounded did not want to go out, however since it was a rescue operation, he went anyway. I think it is an injustice sending out a pilot with only 2 weeks left. He was beloved in his company and of course was a Training Officer by then. The Army declared to my naturally furious Father, that there was no survivors left, however 27 years later his co-pilot appeared on TV shooting a million dollar 3 pt. shot at NCAA BB finals. He was grievously wounded but maintained he was only survivor. I asked him to call my Mom, and let her know the truth, as she had been holding out he was MIA all these years. It was good for her to finally deal with her grief.                                                      Anyway, thanks again for your response, Ron Alexander   Did you watch my short YouTube Body Bags and Dogtags, A Tribute to CWO Barry Alexander?  I was in the Army Medical Corps at same time NOT in Vietnam, because he was, and begged me not to come. I received a commendation medal, however was plagued many years with Survivors Guilt and Grief. -----Original Message----- From: BRIAN REISS <bluediamond1683@gmail.com> To: Ronreunite <ronreunite@aol.com> Sent: Mon, Jun 15, 2020 6:29 am Subject: Re: Did he know my Brother CWO Barry Alexander KIA in Vietnam in 1969, YouTube Body Bags and Dogtags, a tribute to CWO Barry Alexander? I was the aircraft commander who broke Larry into Soc Trang!  The world keeps getting smaller.  I'm sorry I did not get to know your brother, as I rotated back to the States in early 1969.  The Delta was an unforgiving place at times. As a Viking, we routinely placed our gunships between the treelines and the slicks. This gave them the best cover. We never liked losing any pilot and it felt like we had not done a good enough job to protect the troopships.