uRIP (un-REST IN PEACE) PAUL E - A MODERN STORY OF RESURRECTION
Last Easter, I felt a bit of a shock when Paul E emailed me, wanting to know whether or not I am Inday's brother.
Paul E was a brother that my sister Inday brought home from the USAF base in Mactan in the mid 60's. In a snap, he became a sibling who I saw around the house most of the time whenever he was out of duty at the base. This lasted a year after which he was transferred back to Vietnam.
In the early 70's we heard the bad news about how Paul was killed in action in Vietnam. The family mourned the news. We truly lost a brother.
Fast forward to the 1990's. In the interest of the Americans who for some reason or another could not go to Washington, DC to view the Vietnam War Memorial, a touring replica was built and was shown for one week in many towns and cities, both big and small. In the mid 90's, it did a one-week exhibit in Charleston, West Virginia.
The Vietnam War Memorial is a black granite wall with the names of all those who died in Vietnam etched into it. The touring replica was just as impressive. I brought my friends in Charleston to the exhibit and showed them the name of Paul E. I even did the popular practice of stenciling the name on a blank piece of paper (how I wish I still had my stencil of Paul E's name).
And then, a bit more than 3 days (35 years, to be exact) after, Paul's email showed up in my Inbox! Talking about finding a long lost brother!
Paul E was a brother that my sister Inday brought home from the USAF base in Mactan in the mid 60's. In a snap, he became a sibling who I saw around the house most of the time whenever he was out of duty at the base. This lasted a year after which he was transferred back to Vietnam.
In the early 70's we heard the bad news about how Paul was killed in action in Vietnam. The family mourned the news. We truly lost a brother.
Fast forward to the 1990's. In the interest of the Americans who for some reason or another could not go to Washington, DC to view the Vietnam War Memorial, a touring replica was built and was shown for one week in many towns and cities, both big and small. In the mid 90's, it did a one-week exhibit in Charleston, West Virginia.
The Vietnam War Memorial is a black granite wall with the names of all those who died in Vietnam etched into it. The touring replica was just as impressive. I brought my friends in Charleston to the exhibit and showed them the name of Paul E. I even did the popular practice of stenciling the name on a blank piece of paper (how I wish I still had my stencil of Paul E's name).
And then, a bit more than 3 days (35 years, to be exact) after, Paul's email showed up in my Inbox! Talking about finding a long lost brother!
posted by mactanman at 3:17 AM
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