"Did you hear about it"? "He did it, he actually finished a marathon, 26.2 miles". "He rocked in the Rock and Roll Marathon".

I am sure some of you are wondering how this all turned out.  I promised you a monster blog about the whole experience but it will probably be at least a few days before I can even get to work on it.  For those of you who have not seen the results, here you go:

26.2 Miles  5:05:02

There are lots of details about the race that I will publish in the blog as soon as I am able.  There a lots of pictures to go through many of which I have not even seen yet.  I also have a couple of busy work weeks ahead of me.   I will do everything to make the wait worthwhile and bring you inside the experience as much as is possible from as many views as I can.

Here are the split times:

Bottom line for now, although I didn’t quite make my goal of finishing under five hours, it was a wonderful experience and I am looking forward to writing about it and picking out pictures from the hundreds that were taken leading up to the event, during it, and post run.  I was thrilled to have my wife Sylvia, my son Mike, my sister Patti, John and Gail Craven and Vince and Gail Acosta cheering me on at 9 miles, 13 miles, 18 miles and having them meet me at the finish.  It was also great to see my good friends Joy and Jean Marie when I came around corner at the finish stretch.  My friend Paul Garrow was also out there taking pictures and cheering me on at two different locations on the course. 

Look for a detail report on all the events of the day as soon as I am able to put it together.  Thanks again for all your support, and remember, it’s still not too late to make a contribution to support the school and the children.  You can find all the details for making donations here on the site.

Mile One:  Mile one is dedicated to John Craven.

John Craven - 1969 - He never forgot the children

  It was John’s dedication and conviction for the school project that made me want to help him and the children.  It was John’s visit to Phoenix that started me thinking about a way that I could help him finish the school mission or at least this stage of it.  I am honored to have the opportunity to work with him to help the children.  It only seems fitting to me that I start the final leg of the journey in his honor.  “If you would be first, first you must serve.”  John has earned this spot.

Mile Two:  Mile two is dedicated to Tony Durbin. 

Tony and Norma Durbin

I will call him my crew chief.  He has been there the entire way supporting my efforts with his emails to “A” Company as well as his emails to me helping and supporting me along the way.  Tony’s dedication to supporting me over the past months and his unrelenting dedication to preserving the history of “A” Company and keeping all of us connected makes it easy for me to dedicate this mile to him.

Mile Three:  The Dove Fund gets this mile for all the good work they have done both for their members and for the people of Vietnam.   Theirs is a noble cause and I am pleased to be able to support their efforts in some small way.  Generations to come will benefit from the work they are doing today, and the world community will be a better place as a result.

Mile Four:  The men of “A” Company, 70^th Engineer Battalion Combat, many of whom I will have the pleasure of being reunited with and some of whom I will meet for the first time at our reunion in Chattanooga later this year.  I am looking forward to getting together with them.  Although my entire marathon is dedicated the men and families of the men who served in “A” Company I thought they should have a mile of their own as well.

Mile Five:  Paul Shimon who got me started running when we were kids in high school and has completed over

King Of The Road

 120 marathons over his running life.  He dedicated himself to teaching school for over 30 years and has promoted a healthy life style and running to thousands of children and adults in his community.  He is one of my running heroes. 

Mile Six.2:  The 10K mark of the run goes to Bill Schrope, an old and recently rediscovered friend and “A” Company comrade who has supported my effort with emails of encouragement as well as his donation to help pay for the school and support the children.  Getting back together with Bill after all these years was one of the

1st Lt. Bill Schrope -1968

bonuses of being reunited with “A” Company.  10K is the first check point of the run where my progress can be monitored on the website or via text message.

Mile Seven:  In memory of Capt Robert Hoy who was killed April 27, 1969 in Vinh Long, Vietnam as a result of hostile artillery fire.  Bob was a classmate of Bill Schrope and me at the Army Corp of Engineer School.  We graduated and were commissioned together in 1967.  Of over 60 men who started in our half of the class on day one, I think only 22 or 23 were finally commissioned.  They were all good men who served their country in Vietnam.  Bob Hoy was one of the best and a leader in our class.

Mile Eight:  This mile is for my friends.  For all those people who it would take a very long time to list who have been part of my life for so many years. Many of them, I don’t see on a regular basis, but we manage to stay in touch. They are in that special group of people who you know will always answer your email and will always return your call and are always interested in what’s up in your life.  They are the people who you never hesitate to help if there is a need and who never hesitate to help you if you are in need.  They are the ones who if you have been away from then for very long always get a hug when you see them.

Mile Nine:  There are endless possibilities in life. 

Just one of lifes possibilities

This mile is dedicated not to any person or group of people, but to the potential that life offers all of us.  The possibilities before us whether we are six or sixty.  Each new day offers us boundless choices to fulfill our lives and lives of others.  This mile is about listening and looking and becoming aware of the opportunity.  It is about giving ourselves the freedom to act on our compulsions and allowing us to be curious and to follow the path of those events that seem at first glance to be coincidental.  It is about living our lives as they were meant to be lived.  

Mile Ten:  Steve Harper gets mile ten.  Steve and I have been friends for as long as the personal computer business has been around.  We have known each other through all kinds of weather as they say.  He has always been around when I needed some help and never failed to make me laugh when I needed to most.  He is a good friend, a good business man and another one of the really nice people I am happy to know. 

Mile Eleven:

Mile Twelve:  This is the last mile of the first half of the race.  This is the time when a lot of runners begin to fall off the pace.  It is when the fun stops and things start to get serious and begin to require some effort.  It is when you start to know you are in for a long day and that day has just started.  This mile is dedicated to my sister Marie Gallagher and my nieces, and great nieces and nephews and great, great nieces and nephews on that side of the family.  I told you I was old.

Mile Thirteen:  This one is for Vince Acosta. 

Vince Acosta - 1969

Vince was the one who located me and brought me back into the “A” Company family.  None of this would have happened if not for that.  He was also the first one other than John and me to make a donation to my run.  His comment on my blog in the early going also provided the inspiration for a couple of my blog entries.  Vince has insisted for some time now that he will be at the halfway point, mile 13.1, with oxygen to help me along the way.  I don’t know about that, but I do expect to see him at the finish. 

Mile Fourteen:  The Kruschwitz Family.  If you count my bother-in-law Al there are 14 of them, so for no better reason than that I will put them here at the beginning of the second half of the run. Let’s see – John and Heidi Walker and Alton and Chloe in London, Brian and Jennifer Kruschwitz and Adam and Helen in New York, Craig and Alex Kruschwitz, the newlyweds in New Mexico, and finally Peter and Katy Carricato and the newest member of our family Emma in South Carolina.  An international contingent of fans and all important people in my life who will help push me along as I start the second half of my run.  Their support and contribution to this effort was greatly appreciated.

Mile Fifteen:  My sister Patricia Woodside and her daughter Katie will be my support during mile fifteen.  Actually, my sister will be here in Phoenix for the marathon and will be there to meet me at the finish.  She said our father would have wanted her to come.  Patti has been a regular reader of all my blogs, both the Tao of John and Johns Marathon, and has followed this journey closely.  I know Katie will be cheering for me back in Virginia.

Mile Sixteen:  The Honor Roll represents the people who have come forward and will come forward to provide financial support to Hoang Van Thu Junior High School and its 240 students and the legacy of hope that it represents.  I was both pleased and surprised by some of the people who have chosen to support my effort.  If you had asked me in the early going who the some of the people would be, you would find most of them on the list now. There are others however who I have worked with over the years but have not been in contact with for some time who stepped forward and surprised me with their help.  I am thankful to all of you.  I am dedicating my marathon effort to you and mile sixteen is in your honor.

Mile Seventeen:  Mile Seventeen is dedicated to SFC Ronald L. Reil and SP4 Clifton A. Davis who were killed during a mortar attack on September 21, 1968 in Pleiku. 

Clifton Anthony Davis 1947-1968

Ronald Leroy Reil 1926-1968

Our base camp near Khanh Duong, a remote village in the central highlands of Vietnam, was named in their honor.  It is also dedicated to Eddy Ray Casey and William H. Lutz who served with A company and also died in Vietnam.

Wilmer Thomas Lutz 1936-1968

Eddie Ray Casey 1949-1969

Mile Eighteen:  “On October 4, 1969 “A” Company lost three men, George Davenport Jr., Wayne Elkins Sr. and William McLaughlin. 

George Clayton Davenport 1948-1969

Wayne R. Elkins 1946-1949

Almost 40 years later the tragedy of their deaths created a legacy of hope when the Hoang Van Thu Junior High School was dedicated on April 29, 2009 near Camp Reil-Davis in Vietnam. 

William F. McGlaughlin 1944-1969

I will run mile eighteen in their memory and for the future that is represented by the school.

Mile Nineteen:  Over the past five months I have talked a lot about the children.  I have published pictures of them in this blog and asked you to consider helping them.  I believe, like all God’s children, they are equal in his eyes and like any other child are deserving of our help.  I also believe they represent the future of their country and will play a

Proud and Happy - On The Steps of The New School

role in making its place in the world community.  What we do to help them today will go a long way in determining what that role will be.  I will run this mile for these children and for all the children who are in need around the world.  

Mile Twenty:  Lt Col Albert Kruschwitz, my brother-in-law, gets this milestone mile.  Al was a runner for many years until his body wouldn’t let him run anymore and he got all his children running at some point as well.  He has checked on my progress regularly throughout my training.  He is my golfing buddy whenever we get the chance to play, which is more often than you would expect considering we are separated by 2,000 miles.  He is also one of the nicest people I have come across in my 62 years of life and is more a brother to me than brother-in-law.  Mile twenty is when it will start to get a bit uncomfortable.  I am sure if he were standing there when I went by he would have something inappropriate to say to encourage me. 

Mile Twenty-one:  Col. and Mrs. John J. Rice will get me through mile 21. 

Colonel John J. Rice - Parade Ready

It is appropriate that my father who was somewhat of a gambler get mile 21.  Blackjack was his favorite game when he visited Las Vegas.  If he were around today he would get a kick out of all this. He was not only a great soldier but also a fine athlete during his life.  My mother, on the other hand, would be fretful over the whole thing and be worrying about her little boy.  They will both be with me in spirit in the true sense of the word.  I will wear a small gold medallion that belonged first to my grandfather and then to my father when I run my marathon.  Eventually, it will belong to my son, but I hope that isn’t anytime soon.

Mile Twenty-two:  This mile, which begins the unknown distance over which my legs have never traveled, is dedicated to Ruth Ann Edwards in memory of her brother-in-law Kinneth Glenn Edwards who was killed November 21, 1967 by mortar fire. 

kinneth Glenn Edwards 1947-1967

It is the mile that will start me on the final leg of my marathon journey to honor the men of “A” Company and help raise the remaining funds needed to pay for the school. I genuinely appreciate her kind comments and her support.

Mile Twenty-Three:  I would be remiss if I didn’t honor all the men and women of our country who have given themselves to preserving our way of life, our freedom and our ability to pursue life, liberty and happiness in whatever way we choose.  Many have died in the effort in both war time and in times of peace.  They are soldiers and sailors and fireman and police officers and patriots of many kinds who have defended and continue to defend liberty and the belief that all men are created equal, both here at home and in foreign lands. 

Mile Twenty-Four:  There are a lot of people who I have loved and who have been part of my life in significant ways who are no longer with me.  My parents who I have already mentioned, my wife Sylvia’s parents and to me especially her mother, Katherine Thomas, who shared her joy for life and her wisdom with us past her 100^th birthday.  My sister-in-law, Nancy who fought a courageous battle against cancer and who we all miss dearly, and whose name Emma Nancy, my new niece will carry proudly through life.  My niece Susan who left us sooner than seems fair and many others.  When you are in your 60’s the list gets too long.  So, Mile 24 is for my celestial fans, my family and friends who I loved and will remember fondly.

Mile Twenty-five:  Mile 25 is for my son Michael.  His generosity in supporting my run and the children was very special to me.  He

Mike Rice

has coached and encouraged me along the entire way and although I have been known to bore people with my incessant running talk over the past 5 months, he has always listened with interest.  He provided fuel for my blog on more than one occasion.  He is also, other than his mother, my best friend.  I might be struggling at this point in the run, but he will get me through it.

Mile Twenty-six:  I am sure you could not have guessed that on this final mile I would be thinking about my wife Sylvia.  No matter what it takes in life, no matter what the challenge, I would overcome it for her.  She can get me through the final mile.  Over the last five months she has edited my blog, worried over me, waited for me at water stops along my runs and put up with all the aches and pains and inconveniences of my training program.

Sylvia - I would run 500 hundred miles

  She has been there every step of the way.  But, I guess that has been true for 43 years now.

The Last .2 of a Mile:  The last two tenths of a mile belong to me.  Although I am aware that many millions of people have run marathons, and that many people who have, have run more than one, this one is mine.  It may be the only one I ever run.  I am proud of the effort I have made in training and will make the day of the marathon. 

See you at the finish Line

I am proud of why I have run and I will finish joyfully knowing that in some small way what I have done has not only been good for me, but has helped others as well.  I will enjoy that last two tenths of a mile and although I will be very happy to cross the finish line, I will be a little sad that it is over.

This Saturday, John Rice will get up with the sunrise, put on his pair of athletic shoes and step outside to start running. When he finishes he will have gone 20 miles, the longest single distance he has ever run.

Rice, 62, is nearing the final weeks of his training for the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on Jan. 17. The full marathon will be his first, and he’s summoning his usual reasons for taking to the road: the benefits to his health, the opportunity it provides him to think during those first few easy-going miles and, finally, because he considers himself, by identity, to be a runner. He enjoys doing it.

“I know the roads I run really well,” Rice said. “I know where all the little cracks are.”

But he will also run for a reason that is likely unique to the marathon’s 30,000 other participants: the education of 240 students at Hoang Van Thu Junior High School in Vietnam.

A year ago, Rice was put in touch with John Craven, with whom he served in the “A” Company of the U.S. Army’s 70th Battalion during the Vietnam War. The two hadn’t spoken to each other in 40 years, so Craven and his wife, Gail, flew from their home in Michigan to Phoenix to pay Rice and his family a visit.

Rice learned that Craven had become involved with the DOVE Fund, an organization of veterans that works to construct schools and provide other amenities for the citizens of Vietnam. Through DOVE, Craven had raised enough money to construct a junior high school near a former base camp where he and Rice were stationed in 1969.

Craven made his first return trip to Vietnam in 2007, apprehensive about the effect it would have on him. But the experience turned out to be a positive one.

“I went back there hesitantly because I didn’t know what I was going to come upon,” he said. “What I wasn’t counting on was the amount of healing that happened.’

When he returned home, Craven began traveling to Rotary clubs in the Midwest, petitioning its members for money to build a new school in Vietnam. He would need to raise $50,000 to supplement the $13,000 provided by the local Vietnamese government. Today, Craven estimates he is $5,000 shy of having the school fully paid off.

In April of this year, Craven returned once more to Vietnam for a dedication ceremony and to place a plaque outside of the school that honors three soldiers of “A” Company – George Davenport Jr., Wayne Elkins Sr. and William McLaughlin – who were killed in a bunker accident on Oct. 4, 1969.

Helping build the school encouraged Craven to confront the troubling inner remnants of his time in Vietnam.

“That put me on the process of dealing with the thoughts, emotions and hidden scars that I had to deal with,” he said. “What they call ‘survivor’s guilt’ ate away at me all these years.”

It so happened that Rice had been researching charities for which he could raise money by running. To support Hoang Van Thu Junior High seemed to him the opportune cause.

“I made the decision I would do something to help him,” Rice said.

He set up a Web site to chronicle his training and provide an easy channel for donations. He soon started receiving contributions from people he hadn’t spoken to in years, many attached with notes of encouragement.

As his training became more rigorous, Rice began setting personal milestones for distance almost every weekend. His effort during the latter miles of a long run became almost entirely mental, suppressing the voice in his head that says “quit,” “enough” and “too much.”

“My mentality becomes ‘a mile at a time,’” he said. “I just say to myself ‘I’ve run 16 miles, only one more to go’ and then, ‘I’ve run 17 miles, only one more to go.’” And so on.

Now, with the marathon in three weeks, only two uncertainties remain: the amount of time it will take him to finish – he’ll be satisfied with a total time of four-and-a-half hours – and how he will feel when it’s over. But he will finish, of that he is certain.

During their revived correspondence, Craven said something that deeply affected Rice: that his effort with DOVE was about “finishing the mission that was started in 1969.” The mission is, in his belief, to help the Vietnamese people.

For Rice, it is once again a mission worth lending his time and talents.

“We took care of the kids and worried about them back then, and we still do.” 

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Robert Oppermann is interning this semester for the Ahwatukee Foothills News. He is a senior at Michigan State University and can be reached at opperm17@msu.edu.

 Side Bar

My personal thanks go out to both Robert the author of the article and Brian Johnson the Editor at AFN for the time and effort that went into the interviews and pictures and their efforts to support my marathon project.  I continue to find the little coincidences of this experience amusing.  Robert Oppermann, who wrote the article, recently graduated from Michigan State University where John Craven met his wife Gail.   Remember, your comments are always welcome and your donations regardless of the amount are greatly appreciated.

Left to Right Bill and Brenda Schrope, Bill and Dianne Ricks in the Back John and Sylvia Rice October 1967

I began thinking about all this when Bill Schrope sent me a copy of a picture from our Engineer School Graduation.  There were three couples in the picture, my wife Sylvia and I, Bill and his wife Brenda and Bill Ricks and his wife Dianne.  Bill Ricks served with the 35^th Group in 1968 and returned to Vietnam for a second tour as a helicopter pilot. 

The thing I found interesting about the picture taken late in 1967 was that all three of us were still married to our wives over 40 years later.  Bill Schrope and I both thought that was pretty incredible.  It started me wondering about Vietnam Veterans and how their marriages had faired.  Having been thoroughly dissected there must be some research out there about Vietnam veterans and married bliss.  I started looking on the internet to see if I could find any statistics.  Was it unusual that the three couples in a 40 year old picture would all still be married?  Vietnam veterans or not, the odds seemed long to me.

There were a couple of other pictures with that picture.  One included John Wildenberg who served with the 70^th at Headquarters and I believe also with “D” Company, in Ban Me Thuot in 1968.  It turns out he and Bill Ricks, both career officers, served together in Germany later in their career.  In a conversation with Bill Schrope, Bill had mentioned that John was still married had two sons. 

John & Sylvia Rice with John & Gail Craven - Over 80 years of married life

Now there were four us in two random pictures.  Since I know a little about John Craven and his wife Gail from John’s book and from  our conversations, I know he and Gail have been together since their school days and were married not too long after John returned from Vietnam. 

Tony and Norma Durbin - Married 38 years

 I had seen some of the “Us Now” pictures from the 70^th website and sent a note to Tony Durbin asking how long he had been married.  Without going back to look through the emails I believe the answer was 1971, another long and successful marriage.  That was pretty much the end of my personal research project, but I continue to wonder about the topic.  If it was that easy to find six of us that were happily married (an assumption on my part) for so long, could it be that maybe it was more common than not. I would really welcome your comments on this one. I am intrigued by it now. 

First in regard to marriages, what little research I could find indicates that Vietnam veterans who served up until 1968 have a lower divorce rate than the general public. Those who served in 1968, 1969 and 1970 have a slightly higher rate.  I would suggest to you that it might be because those years were the most violent of the war and the unrest over Vietnam in our country was also the greatest.  That is just my opinion.  

Here are some other statistics.  They are all counter to the myth that Vietnam veterans were a somewhat motley crew of uneducated minorities and poor Caucasian boys that came from ghettos and disadvantaged families around the US. 

• 97% of Vietnam-era veterans were honorably discharged
• 79% of Vietnam-era veterans had a high school education. Substantially more than during both World War II and The Korean War.
• Only 25% of the men who served in Vietnam were drafted.
• All races served in Vietnam in approximate proportion to their percent of US population.
• Of the 58,148 men and women killed in Vietnam over 15% were officers.
• 76% of Vietnam-era veterans were from lower middle and middle income backgrounds.
• Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups.
• Vietnam veterans’ personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent.
• There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group.
• Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison – only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans has been jailed for crimes.
• 87% of Americans hold Vietnam Veterans in high esteem.
• 91% of Vietnam-era veterans say they were proud to have served and 75% say they would serve again.

I will let the statistics speak for themselves.

Finally, as a side note, the United States did not lose the war in Vietnam, the South Vietnamese did.  The fall of Saigon happened in April 1975, two years after the American military left Vietnam. The last American troops departed the country in March 1973.

The one disturbing thing I learned in doing my research is the fact that of over 2.7 million men and women who served in Vietnam, only about 825,000 are still living.  That makes me feel a little old and a bit lucky.

 Side Bar

 I have never done any research or surveyed Vietnam veterans to find out anything about them.  What I am about to tell you is just my opinion. The only credibility I have is the fact I was there and commanded 120 men who I watched perform their duties day in and day out.  

This will stop traffic for a while - Blown Bridge on QL-21 - More work for "A" Company

The men of “A” Company I served with worked pretty much from dawn to dusk six and seven days a week.  In the dry season there was red dust like talcum powder that got into the pores of your skin and didn’t come out until you got back home and had a month of hot showers. I don’t remember any hot showers at Camp Reil-Davis.

 In rainy season there was mud up to your ankles.  There were rats and snakes and mosquitoes and six inch long centipedes and all sorts of crawling things that could nearly kill you if you got tangled with them.  When it rained hard the water found its way into everything and when it stopped the mosquitoes hatched out by the millions.  You only had to see one soldier dying of fever from malaria, packed in ice, hoping the med evac helicopter would arrive sooner than later to earn a respect for that insect. 

 The men of “A” company worked under the worst imaginable conditions around heavy equipment of all kinds.  If you lost your concentration or your balance for even a moment it could mean loss of life or limb.  I wonder where OSHA was in those days. 

 When they weren’t working on a bridge site in sweltering heat, dirt and mud they might be called for a patrol and they likely would do at least one tour in an outlook bunker half way up the side of the mountain outside the wire.  If you were discovered there the likelihood was something between slim and none you were going to make it back.  Fortunately we never had to find out, but it didn’t make it any easier going up there.

 Then there were the VC.  I never decided if it was harder wondering if and when they would show up or ducking when they did. I almost think being on edge was the harder of the two.  With all they dealt with day to day I rarely ever heard anyone complain in a meaningful way.  We, including myself were just a bunch of 20 something’s, some of whom had been drafted, most who had enlisted who went to serve our country.  We did our job, went home to our families or married our sweethearts and raised families and built our lives like every other American did. 

 That’s the way it was in 1969 when I served in “A” company and the way I expect it was more or less in every other year our unit was in country.  I am proud to have had the chance to serve in our unit.  The only difference between a Vietnam Veteran from “A” Company and lot of other folks in our country is they served and defended their country in Vietnam.  That, of course, and the small CE etched somewhere on their heart for Combat Engineer.

 As always, your comments are welcome and your donations are greatly appreciated.

For me, it was mostly about the food my mother served.  My mom put together a pretty serious Thanksgiving Day dinner.  Turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, the green bean casserole recipe off the chicken soup can, or wherever it came from, and a long list of other good stuff.  I wonder how many green bean casseroles have been made on Thanksgiving Day in this country since that recipe came out.  Of course there were the pies, there had to be pies on Thanksgiving.  As a child, Thanksgiving Day was about the food, and the beginning of the Christmas season.  I was happy about both of those things.

Just Kids

I don’t know when I actually started being thankful.  I don’t mean the polite thankful, I appreciate that, it was kind of you, sort of thankful.  My parents raised me to appreciate the things that were done for me and given to me, and I certainly understood I was more fortunate than many others.

What I mean is the quiet reflective thankfulness when you come to understand that the good fortune you have had in life, the love of your friends and family and the gift of life itself are something truly special.  I don’t know when that happened.  I expect it was a cumulative thing that came with some maturity.

I can’t imagine how long it would take me to tell you all of the things I am thankful for.  Some of them would seem insignificant to many people and some are fundamental to the quality of my life, the blessing of which still remains a mystery to me.

Most of all, however, I am thankful for my wife and my son and my family and true friends.  I am thankful that when you strip away all the trappings of my life and that in spite of all I am, the good, bad and indifferent, I know I am loved and I have the capacity to love others.  I can think of nothing to be more thankful for.

In the context of this blog, I am thankful for the good health that allows me to pursue running a marathon in order to help the children in small village in Vietnam fulfill their potential in life.  I am thankful that I have the facility necessary to tell a large community of people about it, and encourage them to come along with me on the journey and be of help in some small way.  I am thankful for the people who have already stepped forward to support my effort, and I am thankful for those who will help before this is all over.

Thank You and Happy Thanksgiving Day

I am thankful that in my small way I can help, because supporting the endeavors of an organization like the D.O.V.E. Fund and the project that John and Gail have undertaken is a joyful experience.  It is one of those things I have spoken about, that define who I am and how I fit into life and the people I share my life with.

Finally, I am thankful for the sunrise and first deep breath I take each day that says I am alive and well and able, and there is a new day before me with possibilities yet to be realized.

Side Bar

As I sit here writing this it occurs to me that Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a season of giving for Americans.  My wife and I will spend the day tomorrow with a large group of our friends as we have a number of times over the past several years. We will all come together, each of us with our contribution to the meal, in a gesture of giving and share the food and the day with friends and family.  Last evening I made a trip to the grocery to pick up a few final items.  As you might expect it was crowded and I am happy I will not be going back again this evening. The local food bank was there and as people left the store, almost without exception, they dropped off a bag of groceries or a turkey as their gift to help people who are less fortunate than they are. 

We'll get by with a little help from our friends

Despite whatever our shortcomings might be, Americans give more of what they have to their fellow Americans and the rest of the world than any other country ever has.  That is one of things that make me proud of our country.  Over the years I have been involved in raising funds for many charitable organizations, and the generosity of my friends and neighbors never ceases to amaze me.  

With all that said, I am asking those of you who have followed and will continue to follow my journey toward January 17^th and my marathon run, to help by making a donation to the D.O.V.E. Fund in the name of John’s Marathon.  You can find instructions on donating under the “Making Donations” tab.  You will be giving a child a start in life they would not get without your help.  If you have enjoyed reading my blog on a weekly basis, it will be just like buying a book.

Thanks to everyone who has made a contribution and to everyone who is going to over the next few weeks. I hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day Holiday.

Colonel John J. Rice - Parade Ready

The year of the parade I think my father had just turned eighty years old.  He was going to be the Grand Marshall for the Manassas, Virginia St. Patrick’s Day parade.  Who better to serve in that role than a good Irishman and an old soldier like my father?

He was raised an Irish Catholic in a depression era New York City family, the son of a New York City fireman and a stern, disciplinarian mother.  He was a good athlete from his school days, as a football quarterback and track star at Fordham, and through most of his adult life for as long as he was able to play sports.  Although he had opportunities to play football and scholarships from a number of colleges, life would take him in another direction.  Family circumstances and the approach of World War II led him to a military career.

He served his country for over 33 years as a soldier, through three wars.  He went into France with the invasion force as part of the 101st Airborne and fought at Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, one of the toughest and most fabled battles of the war.  Later he would go to Korea to defend his country a second time.    

In addition to the Airborne wings he proudly wore, my father was decorated for valor and his service to our country over 20 times, including the Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, two Presidential Citations and the Purple Heart.  He entered the military as a private and rose to the rank of Colonel.  In 1978 he was inducted into the Army Engineer Hall of Fame. 

I wasn’t able to be there the day of the parade, but I spent a lot of time talking to my family and looking over the pictures of event.  It seemed to me to be a fitting cap on a long life of service to his country, to his family and to his friends.  It was obvious from both the pictures and the family stories that he enjoyed the attention he received that day and was pleased to be so honored, especially on St. Patrick’s Day.  It was one last time to put on his dress blue uniform, one last time to be a soldier for his country and one last time for his country to say thank you.

For Father’s day that year my wife and I put together a Father’s Day card including some family pictures and of course pictures from the parade and a poem.  This is the last stanza of that poem.

My Son Mike - Trustee of My Fathers Flag

So on this day that we save for our fathers

Remembering their lives and their deeds,

My father should know, in the parade that I march

He will always be riding the lead.

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My father became a soldier in the days when young men wanted to be soldiers.  When I served my country that was not generally the case.  War is never a good thing and it can always be argued why and if we should ever be involved in any war.  Today young men and women have and continue to volunteer to serve and defend our country in the military.  We should never forget their sacrifice, their dedication to duty and the call they have answered to serve, and in some cases, sadly, die for their country.  It shouldn’t happen in this war or any war.  Next time you are traveling and see one of these soldiers in the airport, go and shake their hand and tell them you appreciate their service to our country.  I do it frequently and I am rewarded by their smiles and their appreciative comments for the thought.  You know, every soldier should have their own parade. I am glad my father had his.  

He would have one more parade at Arlington Cemetary in 2005.  Another fitting tribute to a soldier’s soldier.

But, you know there is more to be said…

We left flowers and gave a final toast to my father and the men of the 101st Airborne.

Over the past year I have had the opportunity to be reunited with the men of the “A” company of the 70^th Engineer Battalion (Combat) and with others who served during our time to be called to duty.  I didn’t have the honor to serve with all of them, and I haven’t had the chance to reconnect with all of the men I served with.  I hope I will over time.  Since being found and welcomed home by the men of “A” Company, I have revisited not only my memories of my service in Vietnam, but I have also refreshed my knowledge of that time in our country’s history as well as searched the web for research done about the war and the men and women who served there.  There are more than a few myths and many misconceptions about both the war and those who served in it. Perhaps at some point I will try to address some of them.  There is one thing I don’t need research to tell me.  Jose Narosky is quoted as saying “In war, there are no unwounded soldiers”.  I think there is no doubt to that.  All those who served then and who are serving now, gave and are giving the most important thing we as human beings have to give; themselves.  There is no greater gift.  I am proud to have been given the opportunity to serve my country, I am proud of those who served with me.  I am also proud of those whose sacrifice was to wait and keep the home fires burning, they also gave of themselves.  And you know, in case you are wondering, I would do it all again without hesitation.

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In listening to him I thought to myself, isn’t life really all about the outcomes?  Two weeks ago, I had started out on a ten mile run feeling very much the world beater and confident it would be a good day.  At the end of it all, looking down at my watch, I was disappointed in the outcome which was the result of a badly managed effort, on a day that should have gone much better.  

Another Positive D.O.V.E. Fund Outcome - Ai Tu School Sponsored by Marines HMM-164

The following week I was slow to get started, my legs felt heavy and both hips ached.  At the end of the first mile I was unsure if I would endure the next 9 miles at all.  At mile five, I had managed myself fairly well and decided I would work toward a negative split if it was only by a few seconds. I finished the second half of the ten miles faster than the first.  The end result of it all was I completed the 10 mile run 5 minutes, or 30 seconds per mile, faster then the prior week, and I got my negative split on a day when I hadn’t been at all sure if I would make it to the finish at all.

 Emerson is credited with the thought that “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer”.  I expect that could have been said a lot of different ways.  I tend to think of it in terms of outcomes that result from enduring, or perhaps even starting out and pushing forward under less than ideal circumstances.

 William James believed that a man is capable of achieving incredible things when he has been under duress for the longest times and under the most difficult situations. He believed that from conquering our most difficult tasks we gain enormous power and energy.   

Plan For John's School - An Outcome Many Years In The Making

Without question life is about outcomes, some are short term like my son’s week at work or my 10 mile runs. Others represent a lifetime time of input and effort, or perhaps take generations to be played out.  One thing I am sure of is this – the outcome you get may be far different from what was expected when gun went off.  I am also sure that positive outcomes are a result of positive endeavors, attitudes and efforts.  Everything else that happens in between the beginning and the end may be in the hands of God or the fates.

 Sometimes we don’t even realize how we came to an outcome until we arrive, or what it has that brought us to that end.  I am now part of an outcome, John Craven’s school that has been being played out for 40 years.  The story of how and why I am part of this outcome is being told every week in this blog.  A lot of people have been on this journey for many more years than I, and have certainly had much more significant roles.  I am just a bit player.  Fernette Mahaffey, a family friend used to say, “All outcomes in life are a combination of compulsion and coincidence.”  Perhaps I am part of the coincidence in this outcome.  In any event I am determined to be a positive part of it and I hope you will consider joining me.

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 A war could never be considered a positive beginning to any outcome.  I do believe however that there can be positive outcomes that result from it.  They come from people who endure. People who struggle sometimes for years to cause a positive result from what was a painful or difficult experience. People who make good outcomes result from others’ mismanaged or fundamentally bad decisions.  Alan Watts talked about the law of black and white in “The Book”.  Stated simply, all things exist because of their polar opposites and it will always be that way.  His message was that we can only manage our personal outcomes and sometimes even that isn’t possible.  But you know what, sometimes it is.  My parents lived to be into their 80’s under much tougher circumstances than I have lived my life.  It is quite possible that I am only three quarters into my personal outcome.  I think I would like to go for a negative split. Perhaps my marathon will be a good start in that direction. 

Remember, your comments are always welcome and your donations are always appreciated.

Just can’t wait to get on the road again.” 

Willie Nelson has always been a favorite of mine.  As I was running the other day the song “On the Road Again” came into my mind.  It is not unusual for me to get a tune in my head while I’m running and have it go round and round in the cul-de-sacs of my mind while I try to remember all the words.  This process can go on for miles until something breaks the train.  If you’re a runner, I think you probably have had the experience as well.  Perhaps that is why some runners listen to music as they run.

“On the road again –

Going places that I’ve never been.

Seeing things that I may never see again

And I can wait to get on the road again.”

I can’t even begin to tell you how many cities I have run in over the years.  Whenever I visit somewhere I make a point of trying to get in a run.  If I can find some place special in a town, I have been known to go out of my way to go there for a run.  Once while in Atlanta, I went to Centennial Olympic Park to run.  It was a chance for me to experience what it might have been like to have been there in 1996 for the Olympics.  There are almost 700,000 engraved commemorative bricks in the park.  A special place to be a runner – I doubt I will ever run there again. 

View from National Harbor across the Potomac with the Wilson Bridge in the distance.

Most recently, I ran around National Harbor and across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Maryland to Virginia and back – another run I will probably never repeat but I could not let the opportunity pass.  I knew it was going to rain that evening, nevertheless, I headed out on the run.  The last mile of about a 10K run was in a thunder storm with winds nearly strong enough to blow you over, through water that was in some places ankle deep.  On my return, I ran into some friends in the hotel lobby who enjoyed a laugh over my plight. 

I have also run in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge 10K. A run that takes you from the eastern shore of Maryland across the Bay Bridge to Sandy Point Park in Annapolis.  It is just one of the great runs to be found in the Annapolis area.  The Naval academy is also a great place for a morning or evening run.

“Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway

We’re the best of friends.

Insisting that the world keep turning our way” 

With few exceptions I have generally been a solitary runner.  There have only been a few times when I have had a regular running partner.  However, road races are social events and if you run in them regularly as I used to, you frequently see and run with the same people.  There is always time for conversation during warm ups, and even sometimes during a run.   After the run there are always cold beverages and discussions about the race, races coming up on the schedule and other runner talk. 

I enjoy running with other people, it just isn’t always convenient.  Running may not get done on a regular schedule, sometimes it just gets squeezed in.  This doesn’t mean I don’t have running friends. I have lots of them and see them almost daily.  We pass one another in the gray light just before dawn most mornings.  Runners are generally friendly people.  We greet each other with a good morning, an occasional thumb up and sometimes even a quick comment on the weather as we slip by each other.  We are kindred spirits.  We are brothers and sisters going down the highway. “We’re the best of friends.”  

Pecos Road headed west toward the Mountain - It gets pretty hilly out this way

My experiences on Saturdays are a little different.  During the week I run in the neighborhood around my home.  Since I am not running on the road that much, I come across runners and walkers going in the other direction all the time, generally the same folks each morning, and I expect they have come to expect seeing me as much as I expect to see them.  On Saturdays my longer runs take me to Pecos Road, a seven or eight mile stretch of highway that dead ends at one end near the mountains behind the Ahwatukee Foothills and connects to the interstate at the other end.  

Pecos is a four lane divided road with bike paths on both sides of the road.  There are feeder roads from every neighborhood along it on the Foothills side, and it borders the desert on the other, meaning there are no cross streets on the entire road.  There are hilly sections and flat sections and it is a weekend favorite of cyclists.  They come as lone riders, in small groups and in peletons of up to 50 and more.  It is also a favorite of runners who are putting in long distance runs on the weekends. 

There are people who cycle and there are people who run.  There are some people who do both sports and participate in biathlons, and some who add swimming and are triathletes.  By and large however, most people either run or ride.  The only thing that allows for the distance runners and the cyclists to coexist on Pecos is that we go in different directions.  A bike on the road is the same as a car.  A runner is a pedestrian.  Anyone who runs on a road with cars or bikes, with the flow of traffic, is asking for serious trouble. 

A rider on Pecos Road - turning back up into the foothills

I have been out on the Pecos every Saturday morning for the past 7 weeks.  Now I am sure there are some riders who still curse to themselves when they see me coming in the other direction, but for the most part, over the weeks they have come to accept me and know what to expect from me.  Riding a bike on the road in large groups at speed is dangerous.  I always do my best to defer to the riders and take every precaution to stay clear.  So althought all runners and cyclists are not “best of friends” out there on Pecos Road, over the weeks, I have come to coexist with the riders and like my weekday running friends I expect to see them on Saturdays. 

It is not uncommon to pass the same riders more than once going in different directions during the same run.  Lately, it is more common that they will greet me on the road as we pass, and on occasion now I get words of encouragement as I challenge a hill they are speeding down.  Last Saturday, a rider who I had passed early on during my run and then again toward the end of my run actually slowed when he saw me coming and said “you know, that’s some effort you are making today, good job.”  He obviously appreciated the fact that I had been out pounding the pavement for the same ninty minutes plus the he had been riding that morning. 

The wheels turn and the feet beat to rhythm of the road. 

“The life I love is makin’ music with my friends

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.” 

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Emma Nancy - The New Kid In Town

I know for certain that her great aunt Sylvia, who left from Phoenix this morning at 5:30 AM and was in North Carolina in time to witness her birth, will shower her with love and affection and probably a few presents, for many years to come.

Emma doesn’t know it yet, but she was born to two well-educated and successful parents, living in the greatest country on earth, who will be her guides through life.  Emma doesn’t know they have, and by the grace of God, will continue to have the resources to give her the same educational opportunities that their parents gave them, and that her education will help open the doors of life for her as she becomes a young lady and a woman.  Emma is a very lucky young lady.  And by the way, so all are of us who welcome her to her new life in our family.

A Home In Rural Vietnam

Now I am pretty sure that far away from North Carolina in small town or village perhaps in the central highlands of Vietnam near M’Drak, another family was having a special day and another child was being welcomed into the world with all the love and attention that Emma is receiving.  A child, who like all God’s children, is no less special in his eyes and no less special to that family. 

But being born in a developing nation, especially in a rural part of a developing nation doesn’t offer a child the same opportunities that children born to parents in United States have.  Some towns have no schools at all, while others are in rundown buildings without electricity or facilities.   

Today, organizations like The D.O.V.E. Fund with the vision of people like John and Gail Craven and the support of people like you are helping to fund the construction of schools.  Your donations are also assisting families with scholarships that allow their children the opportunity to go to those schools.

I was struck by the comment Vince posted, “When we were there we loved the children and would always give the kids candy when we had it. They were our sense of normalcy, being so far from home and with all the craziness we lived in.”  He went on to say, “Seeing these children is like seeing the children in 1969 (40 years ago), but knowing they now have a chance to change their lives through education.  It is a wonderful feeling.”

Education Is The Great Equalizer

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When I committed to my marathon program and dedicated it to helping raise funds to support the school and the children in Vietnam, the first one I told about it was my wife Sylvia.  She was very supportive of the idea and decided she would reread John’s book “A Legacy of Hope”.   She said to me, “there are a couple of things I discovered in rereading the book”. 

Here is one of them.  It comes from a letter John wrote to Carla and John Fleming after his visit to the Vietnam Memorial and speaks about The D.O.V.E. Fund.  “Our group provides veterans the opportunity for healing by returning to Vietnam to accomplish the mission we set out to do in the war many years ago…helping the Vietnamese people”.

“To accomplish the mission we set out to do in the war many years ago…helping the Vietnamese people” – thinking about that brings back many memories of the children of Vietnam who as Vince said were our sense of normalcy.  Our wives and families frequently sent clothes and toys for us to distribute to the children in town and in the Montagnard villages.  The Montagnards are the native people of the central highlands of Vietnam.  Our medics spent a good deal of time providing medical assistance to the children and the company frequently had projects to help the people who lived around us. 

I certainly don’t have any interest in opening a Pandora ’s Box about the Vietnam war, but in the purest sense we were there to help the people and I am glad to be reminded of that and also of our adopted children of Vietnam.  Happy Birthday Emma.

Your Comments are welcome.  Your donations are appreciated.  Thank you.

Vince Acosta - 1969

702.  Since I travel to Las Vegas on business regularly and have friends and business associates there, I picked up the phone.  “This is John” I said, which is my standard answer.  The voice on the other end of the phone said, “Is this Captain John Rice from “A” Company?”  Now the only time I ever hear anyone say “Captain Rice” is when USAA Insurance calls me.  USAA is a military insurance company and they always refer to me as Captain Rice even now, 35 years after I left the military.  I had not heard anyone mention my name in association with “A” Company in almost 40 years.

I hesitated for a moment and said, “Well, yes it is”.  There was a pause on the other end of the line and then I heard “This is Vince Acosta, Captain Rice. We served together at “A” Company in 1969, Welcome Home”.  From that point, I was told the story of the “A” Company website and how the members of the company from 1965 to 1969 were being located.  Vince and I talked for about thirty minutes and exchanged some memories.  He said, “If it’s ok, I’ll give them your phone number and let everyone know we have found you.  They’ll be callin’ you.”

John Rice - 1969

At that point, I had no idea what “they’ll be callin’ you” really meant, but it seemed ok with me, and even after 39 years “welcome home” had a nice ring to it.  In the coming days I would learn a great deal more about “A” Company, 70^th Engineers, Combat and their goal to welcome home every man who served in the company during the Viet Nam era.

Just a short while later I received a call from John Craven, who if you have read this blog you already know was a squad leader in “A” Company during my tenure as CO.  I really don’t know how long we stayed on the phone or all the things we talked about.  Seeing his picture on the website and hearing his voice on the phone was the closest thing I will ever experience to time travel.  It’s an interesting experience speaking with someone on a very personal level and at the same time realizing that if the day before someone had asked you if you knew them, you would have said no.  A few weeks later I would be the one who located another member of “A” Company – my company clerk and sometimes Jeep driver, Bill Hanks.  When I heard his voice on the phone it could have been 1969 again.

A day had not gone by before I received a call from Tony Durbin checking on my vital statistics so he could get the information out to all the “A” Company alumni.  Durbin, Craven and Bob Wear are the Three Musketeers of this adventure, finding people, cataloguing information, and updating the website.  It is all very amazing. You can get a little feel for the scope of it by visiting the website http://www.a70thvets.com 

In short order I was officially announced as being found.  I would receive back issues of the newsletter, a baseball cap from the company reunion, and a copy of John’s book “A Legacy of Hope”.  Sylvia dedicated time to gathering, scanning, and in some cases repairing old documents and photographs to be added to the website along with the thousands that are already there.  I had saved a folder of reports about the company, and am glad they are now part of its recorded history on the site.

Over the weeks and months to come, I would reconnect with people I had not spoken to in almost 40 years and I

John Craven - 1969 - He never forgot the children

would learn a great deal about the history of the company that I had proudly commanded.  I would talk with an old friend Bill Schrope who served with “A” company but went home shortly before I arrived.  We graduated from the Engineer School together and were commissioned as 2^nd Lieutenants in 1967.  Even though we haven’t seen each other since we graduated, I always feel like I am writing to someone I have been writing to for years every time I send him an email.  Perhaps we will have a chance to see each other at the reunion next year.  I have filled an email folder with hundreds of messages from Bill and John Craven and Tony Durbin and others.   

In February of this year, John Craven and his wife Gail were visiting Arizona, and we had the opportunity to get together at my home for dinner and an evening of conversation and reminiscing.  I mentioned to John that evening that I would have to find some way to help him with his school project.  I’m not sure at the time I envisioned that help being in the form of running a marathon, but here we are.  In any event, it’s nice to know I’ll have 150 plus guys from “A” Company cheering for me.

John & Sylvia Rice with John & Gail Craven - 2009

I don’t think more than a few hours had passed after my first call with John, that day back in September of 2008, before I got an email from him.  It simply said.  “Hi John, I forgot to say “Welcome Home” before we hung up; so “Welcome Home!”