On the way to WAR

As a (SURPRISE!) prequel to Pennies From Vietnam: A Sister at Home, A Brother at War, I'm super excited to share these personal letters that lead right up to my brother's chaotic days in the war. You won't find these 19 letters in the book. This is where my brother's truth begins.

April 2nd marks the first envelope our family received from my big brother Larry as he navigated Advanced Helicopter Training in Alabama between April and June 1967.

My 18-year-old brother wrote home on April 2, 1967. Click here to listen.

In the background is an image of the actual letter; click on the play button to see family photographs, and hear a special audio reading by Larry's nephew, my beloved son Adam. Sadly, the two never met.

Soldiers had a few bad words/nicknames for Fort Rucker. Nobody liked it there and Larry wrote about his misery on the regular. The pride and patriotism we had rallied around as a family began to morph into concern for his state of affairs... not to mention my dismay when the pennies he saved for me were spent on cigarettes and strip shows!

Through his words, spoken so eloquently once you HIT 'PLAY', you will get to know my brother as a young teenage boy. This is the young man I didn't recognize when I read these letters decades after they were written. I now see my loving sons, both my fathers, and several friends inside these stories. I hope you will as well.

I would LOVE to hear your own military or patriotic family stories, see your pictures, or answer any questions. I know many of you have Fort Rucker stories to share! Just email me back at TracySmithMathis@gmail.com, I'm here to commemorate the truth, in the hopes of happy healing.