A Vietnam War Experience (in photos)
by
Lt. Richard P. Grimes
2d Platoon Leader, C Co., 75th Infantry Rangers (Airborne), 1969-70
Rolling Thunder motorcycle (built by my friend Michael DiMartino) passes "Lone Marine" on Memorial Day...
Summer 2015. Some 15 years after my father-in-law, Phil "Ted Tappet" Walters, passed away, I found his prisoner-of-war dog-tags and other WWII memorabilia among his papers. They had been squirreled away unknown to anyone for 70 years!
What does that have to do with this website? Well, that 'find' was a reminder that I myself had squirreled away memorabilia and several boxes of slides and prints that I brought back from my tour in Vietnam--45 years ago. I always intended to do something with them--some day.
I was extremely proud to have served with the extraordinarily courageous men of the 75th Infantry Airborne Rangers, but I, like my father-in-law, came back from overseas and went on with the rest of my life: school, work and family. My experience was always with me but I just didn't talk about it much.
That said, my Vietnam experience certainly had a profound effect on the way I have lived my life and the choices I have made--as I'm sure it did with my father-in-law. I'd guess most war veterans who have been first-hand witnesses gain a perspective early in their lives that comes later to most others, if at all, i.e., a profound and rich understanding of what is really important in this life...
So. For anyone who cares to know, here's my story. I'd welcome comments, questions, corrections, contributions, and suggestions for improvement...
What does that have to do with this website? Well, that 'find' was a reminder that I myself had squirreled away memorabilia and several boxes of slides and prints that I brought back from my tour in Vietnam--45 years ago. I always intended to do something with them--some day.
I was extremely proud to have served with the extraordinarily courageous men of the 75th Infantry Airborne Rangers, but I, like my father-in-law, came back from overseas and went on with the rest of my life: school, work and family. My experience was always with me but I just didn't talk about it much.
That said, my Vietnam experience certainly had a profound effect on the way I have lived my life and the choices I have made--as I'm sure it did with my father-in-law. I'd guess most war veterans who have been first-hand witnesses gain a perspective early in their lives that comes later to most others, if at all, i.e., a profound and rich understanding of what is really important in this life...
So. For anyone who cares to know, here's my story. I'd welcome comments, questions, corrections, contributions, and suggestions for improvement...
Phil Walters German POW tags:
7463 Stalag Luft 1 Phil Walter U.S. Dog tags: Philip F. Walters T 1275 T43 F.A. Walters 119 Shoreview Rd Manhasset, NY P |
Phil Walters (front) before Operation Market Garden (September 17, 1944.) He came under fire and was wounded while trying to land his glider in Holland. He managed to land safely but was captured and taken to a hospital in Germany. After recovering from his wounds, he spent the rest of the war in a POW camp (Stalag Luft 1).
|
[P.S. If you're looking for Rick Grimes of AMC's 'The Walking Dead,' you've found him BUT I don't do that stuff anymore. I've moved on and I'm into other things. If you want to see a highly fictionalized story of my life (half the stuff they show never happened), you should go to this link and it will take you there...Thanks for visiting....RG]