From the editor’s desk: Honoring our vets

By Pat Caldwell
Saturday, September 19, 2009 11:15 PM PDT

His name was Ray Warren, and he was, among other things, a friend of my brother Kevin.
If I remember correctly, Ray and Kevin met when they were both working at the Boise Cascade mill in La Grande.
The time was the mid-1970s, and I was a youngster with an infinite interest in all things military, particularly the Vietnam War.
That interest, of course, was fitting because, in 1976 or 1977, our involvement in Southeast Asia had only just ended.
The veteran, like Kevin, was young man then — 29, 28 or 27 or younger. They were a new set of veterans of a nation that seems, at times, to be one made of war.

Because I was a child, I’m fairly certain I was able to get away with a lot more regarding questions about the war than others.
And I was full of questions for people like Ray.
How long were you in Vietnam?
What unit?

Where?
Even then, I knew very little about Ray. Only that he was a Marine and served in Vietnam. But Ray took a liking to me. And he answered questions. In detail.
 Eventually he brought me out a North Vietnamese pack that was stained by a large patch of dark color that Ray confirmed was blood. I remember the pack seemed old and primitive.
Not at all like what I could buy, even in La Grande in 1976.

 He also told me stories, but in an offhand way. He never sat me down and launched into a long tale. The questions might go like this:
Ray: Sometimes, you know, there were nurses. North Vietnamese nurses.
 Pat: How did you know they were nurses?
 Ray: Because of their hands and their teeth.
 Pat: What?
 Ray: Their hands were smooth, not torn up from village work. And their teeth were not stained with Betel nut.
 Pat: Betel nut?
 Ray: Yeah. They chewed it. The villagers.
 Pat: Oh.
 And then he would be talking to my brother, and our conversation seemed forgotten.
 When I entered the Guard, a lot of the older guys were all Vietnam vets. Guys like Jim Coxen who was a Marine in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, who, by the way, left before the big Tet Offensive.
 Nearly 10 years ago, the Argus Observer completed a special section devoted strictly to honor our World War II vets called “The Gallant Brotherhood.”
 In many ways, this was the most successful special section this newspaper has ever produced.
I’m proud of it, even now, more than any other thing I’ve ever been associated with here.
 It was right to honor our vets from the big war, but we are now planning on going one step further. We will publish a special section on Veterans Day devoted to Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War I and Gulf War II veterans or anyone else who served between 1949 and last week.
 So, just like we did with the “The Gallant Brotherhood,” we want to hear your stories. We seek names and phone numbers of veterans, and we want to place those stories in our special section.
 You can e-mail suggestions to PatC@argusobserver.com or JessicaK@argusobserver.com or call either myself at (541) 889-5387 or News Editor Jessica Keller at the same number to give a name or offer a story suggestion.
 We’ve honored our World War II heroes with “The Gallant Brotherhood.”
Now its time those from other conflicts secure an opportunity to tell their stories.
 I do not know what happened to Ray Warren.
I last remember him driving for UPS and coming out to pick up his pack.
He drifted off, a nice man with lots of stories, I’m sure, into the horizon.
 
Pat Caldwell is the editor of the Argus Observer. He can be contacted at PatC@argusobserver.com. The sentiments expressed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of the Argus Observer or Wick Communications.