A park will be named in honor of my deceased brother

I received word last night from a sister in Texas that a park in the small town of Coweta, Oklahoma will be named after our brother, Jimmy Lee Campbell, a U.S. Army veteran who died in Vietnam.

Because I was so young when he was killed in action, I have no direct memories of my brother and only one photograph that shows the two of us together, which I've scanned and included with this post along with a better picture of him. I'm not sure how to adequately express what growing up in the shadow of my family's grief for him was like. Most of my brothers and sisters, all being older, have their own cherished memories of Jimmy. In that aspect, I feel especially cheated.

The small town of Coweta, which was even smaller when the Vietnam war was raging, has the distinction of having lost the most boys per capita in the nation during the Vietnam conflict.  My brother was the eighth soldier killed from Coweta. His graduating class of only 37 students had 14 men who saw action in Asia.

Jimmy was a high school football stand-out and, according to the people who have spoken with me, was well-liked by all who knew him.  After he graduated from Coweta High School, he attended Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton and played ball there. He was attempting to transfer from that college to one closer to home when he was drafted on Feb. 12, 1969.

My mother told me that she went with him to the airport when he was required to report for duty. My mother, who already had a full head of gray hair, said he touched her darkly dyed hair and told her she should just let it go gray, that she was beautiful regardless. Then he turned and, without looking back, ran up the tarmac and onto the plane. Mom never again dyed her hair.

Like the story above, I have filed away other family informational tidbits. For instance, I know the orange and white pick-up truck driven for years by my father was actually purchased by Jimmy and given to Dad for safe keeping when Jimmy was drafted. I remember the big tears that rolled down my father's cheeks when the truck had to be replaced. On one hand, I'm sure it was a reminder of the son that had been lost. On the other, it was probably the last physical link to Jimmy.

Thanks to my mom, who was always a pack-rat, there is an official paper trail of what happened -- in the form of Western Union telegrams from the military and a few newspaper clippings. I've scanned three of the telegrams that were sent. The blacked-out portion covers the home address, a residence that members of my family still occupy.

This first telegram is from December 1969. It was sent to inform the family that my brother had been "slightly wounded in action in Vietnam on 15 December 1969 by fragments while ona (sic) combat operation when a mine detonated." The note goes on to say that Jimmy received wounds to his left hand, left leg and both arms, and that he was being treated at a hospital in Vietnam.

"Since he is not repeat not seerrritously (sic) wounded no further reports will be furnished."

A newspaper article written after Jimmy's death has this to say about the December incident:

"The youth was wounded once before, on December 15. It was a booby trap explosion that has claimed many U.S. victims. He suffered hand and arm injuries, was hospitalized six weeks and returned to his outfit in the Chu Lai area."

I've never gotten the courage to ask the question of living Vietnam veterans that I want to ask about this incident. I don't understand why the Army was so adamant about his wounds not being serious, even labeling them as "slight," but then kept him in the hospital for six weeks. Until the day of my mother's own death she believed that Jimmy should have been sent home at the time of the December injuries. My understanding from the men that served with Jimmy is that he was not fully healed -- or perhaps that he would never heal well enough -- to be effective as a member of the unit. He was slowed by the injuries and, possibly, that led to the event that would claim his life.

The next telegram is dated Feb. 9, 1970. It was sent to inform the family that Jimmy had been seriously injured. "[Your son] was wonded (sic) in action ... by fragments from a booby trap ... He received wound to his abdomen. A Laparotay (sic) has been performed. The attending phychian (sic) says his condition is of such serverity (sic) that there is cause for concern."

Two days later on Feb. 11, 1970, my brother died.

There are several more telegrams among the things my mother saved. The others detail how Jimmy's body would be shipped by the military, the expenses the military would pay (between $75 and $250) and how arrangements should be made with the local funeral home.

Posthumously, Jimmy was honored with several awards by the military. Among them were the Vietnam Military Merit Medal and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm in July 1970. He was also given the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, both in May 1970, and assorted other awards.  Before his death, he was given the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and others for marksmanship and excellence.

Although I do not know this as fact, I was told that one of the men who served with my brother in Vietnam was instrumental in having the park dedicated in Jimmy's memory. There will be benches placed within the park in honor of the many, many other young veterans from Coweta who gave their lives in service to country.

And now that I've taken such a sentimental journey, I have a favor to ask of our readers. The dedication of the park is scheduled to take place Feb. 14. Would you all please pray or send positive thoughts to Old Man Winter? If the weather cooperates, I will be able to travel south for the ceremony.