Tom Shaw: Memorial Day Remembrance

/ Operation Meatball/

T O M || I was introduced to 1st Lt. Thomas Shaw on a winding road through the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam, somewhere in the vicinity of Anh Khe.

Before my trip to Vietnam I’d never heard of Lt. Shaw -a good-looking boy from Fond Du Luc, Wisconsin. But thanks to his former roommate and buddy, Jim Crigler, I now carry of piece of Tom’s memory in my heart.

From what Jim told me, Tom was everything good and kind and solid. The few months they roomed together in 1972 they became close friends and over time Tom mentored Jim, sharing his moral compass and life ideals with him:

1. Be courageous.

2. Be truthful.

3. Trust in God.

The friendship deeply affected Jim and one day the two made a pact - an oath - that on the off chance that either of them was killed the surviving friend would escort the body home to the family.

On April 27th, 1972 as Jim headed out on his first mission of the day he found a note from Tom. “Jim, Use your courage today to focus on what is right, not what is wrong. Live the truth. Trust in God! - Tom”

Jim returned from his final mission of the day to be greeted by the news that 1st Lt Thomas Shaw’s helicopter had crashed, killing him and a Warrant Officer, Claude Strothers.

It was devastating. But Jim held up his end of the pact - escorting the body of his friend and comrade HOME.

This wasn’t the last time Jim would be fulfilling his end of the bargain. On April 30th, 2022 (making his first return trip to Vietnam), Jim held a small memorial service on the side of the mountain - not far from his buddy had been killed 50 years & 3 days before.

In a strong, but not emotionless voice, Jim read letters from Tom’s family and shared his own memories and lessons he’d learned from the short life of the Fond Du Luc boy.

The tears don’t come as easy for me these days, but as the clouds opened and the rain started to trickle down I found myself wiping more than raindrops away from my face… in fact it was hard to stop the flow as I listened to the heartfelt sincerity of this genuine man who had traveled around the world - over 30+ hours of flying - to pay homage to a friend and mentor. BROTHERHOOD.

This to me was worth the trip.

I could go on. But for now I’ll just add that on Memorial Day this year I’ve been thinking about 1st Lt. Thomas Shaw. A good man. His name now reflects off of the Vietnam Wall in DC. I hope the next time one of you visit this special cenotaph you’ll pay Tom a visit. And remember him, not just on Memorial Day.

If you’d like to learn more about Jim and the distinctive and wonderful ways he is still serving his country, click through here: Mission of Honor – Vietnam Veteran writes a book and Paddles the entire length of the Mississippi River to right a wrong.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

JP: Moments from Vietnam

/ Operation Meatball/

I’ve known JP for most of my life, though there is some debate between us as to our actual meeting. Each time he introduces me to someone as, “I knew her when she was this tall,” gets shorter and my age gets younger. I keep telling him that eventually he’s going to claim to be the presiding midwife at my birth.

During the Vietnam War JP served with the 1st Cavalry Division as a helicopter pilot. And a dang good pilot too. But, in Vietnam you had to be good.

Fully acknowledging my redundancy, I can’t stress how special it was to visit these locations and listen to his southern drawl on about them. Places I still find exceedingly difficult to pronounce, much less spell- Phước Vĩnh, An Khê, Pleiku (probably because Vietnamese does not translate well into Texan), but are now cemented into my memory log with the visuals I took in and the dirt still imbedded in my boots (to clean or not to clean… That is the question).

These locations have largely been built up over the last 50 + years. In some cases built up, torn down, and built up again multiple times. Often times there’s a paved road where there used to be a tarmac made of Marston Matting (a perforated steel material that was used as makeshift runways and landing pads. Visualize flat legos fitting together like a puzzle)… Or locals dry their rice on cement sidewalks and grassy areas where we used to have hard back tents housing our boys.

(Incidentally - it was with amusement that a few times we saw farm trucks drive by with their sides encased in Marston mats from the war. Quite clever in fact as it converted the bed of the truck into a suitable way of carting animals or large and bulky items).

But even though there is little evidence of great military force that was once there, if you just sit still enough for a minute and imagine - it’s not hard to see the helicopters coming in and out and hear the purr of their turbos. And lemme tell you, it’s a beautiful noise.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

Leaving Vietnam

/ Operation Meatball/

After nearly a month in Vietnam (nearly 2 weeks longer than planned for thanks to some complications getting back stateside), I’m home.

An adventure to say the least. I’ve been joking with some of the team that when I write my book of this last month I’m calling it, “And then there were none.” Or “Yes, we have no nachos: surviving the Hotel California of Hanoi.” (Que: “You can check out any time you like / but you can never leave.” )

For a hot minute, I was pretty sure a couple of us might take up citizenship in Vietnam - or just get deported. My visa actually runs out tomorrow. So either option was a possibility.

But y’all - you can’t buy an experience like this.

There’s so much to process from this trip, I’m afraid y’all will have to suffer through some of my ramblings in the near future. Vietnam is nothing like I expected. I’m so in love with the country, the culture, and the people. It’s cliche, but the best things are.

Our hotel staff at the Silk Path Hanoi made the last 10 days of “being stuck” absolutely delightful, and I feel as if I have a wonderful new set of friends. Which I do (we have already discussed plans of returning some day soon).

So bear with me while I have images and anecdotes to post.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

H Ô I • A N |

/ Operation Meatball/

H Ô I • A N || Inescapably beautiful. Walking down the streets of Ancient Town the sensoria is overwhelmed with colors, smells, languages, tactile sensations, and a beauty that almost feels manufactured.

Mopeds packed 3, 4, and 5 passengers strong, balancing every imaginable thing possible or impossible that can be carted on two wheels.

Meats, rice, noodles, fish, all spread out on ground mats or stands alongside the street. Ancient mamas squatting and swatting flies away.

Fat little children (I call them Buddha Babies) running around the street in frilly frocks and suits, holding onto their mothers with one hand and a Bánh Dúa (coconut cake) in the other. Powder sugar covering their faces.

Shops of every imagination - leather, tailoring, purses, clay works, baskets, coffee, salons, model shops… miscellaneous dogs sleeping in the sun.

An old woman: toothless, wrinkled, skin turned hardened to leather by decades working in the rice patties - now she sells small clay whistles in a doorway. She is not beautiful, but if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then she is beautiful to me.

Colors, vibrancy, smells, noises… it’s glorious. I’m in love with Vietnam and the people.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today