Vietnam veterans reunite after 43 years
Two Vietnam veterans recently rekindled an old friendship after a chance meeting made possible through today’s technology. While researching veteran’s benefits via the Internet, Bokeelia resident Tom Pollock came across a website that led to an unexpected find.
“About a year ago, I had been having some difficulty getting help with some of the benefits for veterans and stumbled across a website that was created by a Green Beret that I had served with in Vietnam,” Pollock said. “I was very surprised when I found Lt. Guy Bryant who had also visited the site and was someone I had not spoken to for more than 43 years but often wondered what became of him.
“We began to communicate via the website which ended up being something of a social network for us.”
According to Pollock, when he left Bryant on the Cambodian border in 1969, he wondered all these years if Bryant or others in his platoon made it back to the states.
The reunion took place when Bryant and his wife decided to come to vacation in Southwest Florida on April 1. The reunion took place in Fort Myers where the old military buddies shared hearty welcome homes and talked well into the night.
“Lt. Bryant is a rare breed of cat who had the respect and admiration of his entire platoon,” Pollock said. “He led by example and not by intimidation, back when fragging of officers was pretty common. He was and is a fearless warrior and I am sure he would have attained the highest ranks had he chosen to stay in the service.”
Pollock served under Bryant’s 4 agt. first class Howard Hills Platoon at various special forces “A” camps along the Cambodian border in 1968 and ’69. The platoon worked in support of Green Beret “A” camps and, according to Pollock, all were constantly in the “cross hairs” of the North Vietnamese Army and in heavy combat daily for most of the year they served the tour of duty. Pollock also said they often went hungry during those times as the supply choppers were routinely fired upon, chased off or shot down.
“I often joked that I was confused whose army I was in, as the North Vietnamese Army sure did visit us more than our own,” Pollock said. “To supplement our food supplies, we would sometimes paddle out on the river and drop hand grenades into the water and collect fish that floated on the surface. Apparently the enemy was just as hungry as we were because most of the time we could see them along the shore collecting the fish that we missed.”
Both Pollock and Bryant were volunteers with Pollock as an airborne photographer and Bryant with officer’s candidate school. Both also suffer from P.T.S.D., however, Pollock feels that reuniting with Bryant has been the best healing therapy he could have found.
Pollock’s search for more of his platoon members continues.
“I am hopeful there are many more of us who made it back from Cambodia and I now have renewed hope that I will be able to locate many more of my comrades,” Pollock said.
While the visit between Pollock and Bryant was brief, both are looking forward to an extended visit next year when Bryant will be the guest of Pollock at his Bokeelia home.
In the meantime, Pollock plans to continue his search for his former comrades.