Personal – 41 years . . .

 

I first saw her in Biology class in the spring ’65. She simply struck a cord in my soul . . . I brought her flowers. Actually – wild flowers for a Biology project . . . just to share, you understand.

That summer she showed up at the little mom & pop grocery store that I worked at to buy an orange “push-up”. . . . all summer long. Fall saw our first formal date . . . January our first kiss on her 16^th birthday. The remaining two years of high school simply disappeared . . . . June ’68. Just before the 6 month anniversary of Tet. Much to her shock and sadness I enlisted. Honestly, it made no difference – everyone was getting “the letter”. Ten months later I was bound for Taiwan . . . wondering if she’d wait, if I’d see her again.

Christmas ’70 I gave her and my mom their Christmas present – my request for a direct transfer to Viet Nam had been accepted . . . I wouldn’t be home in April, it would be another year . . . . and still she waited.

May 70 the song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel came out – she sent me the lyrics, hand written on blue paper with white dots – her explanation of her love. The letter still sits in the drawer next to my side of the bed. And she waited . . .

April 21^st-ish . . . I’m sitting on a commercial aircraft rolling out on the runway at DaNang . . . I’d made my DEROS date . . . Shortly after liftoff the pilot came online saying we were beyond B-40 range . . . . then rifle range . . . . finally SAM range . . . . we were “safe”. What an odd feeling, the relief of that word . . .

4 hours after I left we landed at McChord AFB (International Dateline) for the trip to SeaTac and a 747 headed for Chicago and finally Flint, Michigan. I was in the very rear seat of a 7XX somethin’ when we came to a halt. The stewardess asked where I was coming from, I said I was home from Vietnam. She asked the other folks to let me off the plane first with a nice round of applause from the folks on my way out . . . . across the tarmac . . . and into the arms of the love of my life . . . .

She went to work (yep, she had to work that night!) while I went to find some new clothes – I literally had only the clothes on my back, a set of 1505s. Evening found me at her home, waiting for her to get home. We took a short drive, to say hello, to see if the connection was still there, so she could see if a psyco sat next to her – or if I was still “her” Bill. We ended up at the church parking lot . . . and I had to know.

“Will you marry me??” No hesitation, no delay – a simple “Yes” crossed her lips.

The following day – again at her home – we prepared to go out for dinner, she and I, to celebrate life, love and our formal beginning. This was my lovely wife-to-be, April 1971:

A year later – August 19^th, 1972, we stood before family and God and pledged our lives together. It’s been 41 years since that date. Some smooth as glass, some simply ripped us to shreds . . . still, under all of it, and through all of it . . . . our love and life together has survived and thrived.

So, to my lovely and loving wife . . . I can never possibly express what you mean to me, the joy I felt being wrapped in your arms after two years apart, and the comfort I find that being wrapped in your arms feels exactly the same today!

Happy Anniversary kid . . . I love you with all of my heart!