Band of Brothers

I stood in the doorway listening to the nurse who would soon accompany my brother-in-law, Chris, into surgery. I listened attentively as the nurse questioned my sister, "Does he have any shrapnel left in his body? "Yes, I believe so," my sister responded. "There has been times over the years when some have fallen out. I can't say for sure."

I was standing alongside my sister in the doorway of an ICU room at the Veterans Hospital.

Chris was receiving care. Already into his third day of surgery, Chris was being prepped for another go around...another surgery to repair an infectious wound which had been causing him problems for more than four months.

I didn't know Chris back in 1968. But I've learned over the years where he had been during that time frame. He was a member of the Charlie Battery, 7th Battalion, 11th Artillery Division and he was smack dab in the war zone in a battle to hold Fire Support Base Maury 1, a small artillery outpost just northwest of Trang Bang in the Tay Ninh Province.

Chris was there...fighting alongside the members of his unit...serving his country, the United States of America.

I looked around the ICU unit. Doctors, nurses, men and women, were not only taking care of Chris, but many other Vietnam Vets and war veterans, who for one reason or another had found their way to Tucson, to the Veterans Hospital and to the 2nd floor of the huge complex at Ajo and Sixth Avenue.

I quietly, under my breath, thanked him for his years of service to our country and at that very moment I realized he wasn't alone. He had his wife, Sheree, and family members around him, but he also had a Band of Brothers with him in spirit.

Some -- including his commanding officer of the Charley Battery, had made it known through phone calls or text messages that they were thinking about him and wishing him a quick recovery. The sooner the better, as another reunion was in the planning stages for 2014.  Chris had flown to Oklahoma City in 2012 and Las Vegas in 2011 for the yearly reunions to be with the surviving members of Charlie Battery, 7th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery of the 25th Armored Division.

He would miss the 2013 reunion in Reston, Virginia, but knowing my brother-in-law, he will battle his way back and be there, alongside his buddies, at the next one.

The Band of Brothers from Charley Battery, 7th battalion has dwindled in recent years, only a dozen or so remain, but the surviving members will be there for each other...you can count on it.

What a great feeling that must be for Chris. It's no wonder he makes his plans a year in advance as he looks forward to yet another meeting, another reunion with the members of Charley Battery.

God bless, the soldiers who have fought for our country.