Some gave all...

 

 

"All gave some, but some gave all..."

Josh had just finished putting some books in his locker. He had to hurry, as Julie was about to get out of her English Literature class. They would always meet up, and he would walk with her to the lunchroom. It was 1966, and yet another beautiful spring day. As far as Josh was concerned, the world was definitely his oyster. Both he and Julie were about to graduate, and they were both accepted at the state university. They had decided long ago that each other were the "love of their lives", and their life course was starting to come into view. Go to college, get married, buy a small cozy house, and have a "slew of kids".

In the fall, they both started at the state college. Josh had turned 18 over the summer, and because of his age, had to register for the draft. No big thing - he was going to have a "2S" deferment. A "2S" deferment could be obtained by going to an accredited school and taking at least 16 credits a quarter. If you fell below the 16 credits a quarter, you would lose your "2S" deferment and be re-classified as "1A" (eligible for the draft).

As luck would have it, Josh was much more interested in Julie than he was in Freshman English. He ended up failing the course. In the eyes of the draft board, failing a course was like never having taken it. Instead of 16 credits for the quarter, he was only given credit for 12. He had learned his lesson. In winter quarter, he only signed up for 12 credits. He knew his "2S" deferment was a risk, but he saw it as a small one. Besides, it would give him more time to be with Julie.

In January, he received a letter from the draft board. He had been reclassified "1A". The letter was short, it was cold. Josh just filed it away and gave not another thought. However, something very peculiar was happening at the university. Young men were disappearing. Here one day, gone the next. Soon the truth came out - they were being drafted. They had lost their student deferments and were soon gone. This was not lost on Josh - he could see the hand writing on the wall.

Josh knew what he had to do. He loved Julie, but also loved his country. He knew there was a messy war going on half way around the world. He also knew it was for freedom - not his, but innocent people who could not by themselves defeat the forces of tyranny.

On dark, cold morning in February of 1967, Josh met Julie for coffee. He looked up from his coffee and said, "Julie, I went down and enlisted in the Army yesterday. I will be serving for two years. It is something I needed to do. I would rather do it on my terms than be drafted." Julie sat in stunned silence. She and Josh had been together constantly since they were sophomores in high school. Being without him, even for a week, was unimaginable. Josh continued, "I will do this, because it is important. When I am done, I will be able to get G.I. benefits. We will not have the money problems we have now. We can get married, even if we are still in school." The rest of the morning passed with both just sitting, holding hands, alone in their thoughts.

By the end of April in 1967, Josh left for boot camp. After boot, he was home on leave for a few days and enjoyed every moment of it. The days passed all too quickly, and soon it was time for Josh's folks and Julie to take him to the airport. Before Josh boarded the plane, he and Julie hugged each other and neither wanted to let go. After he released Julie from his hug, he got ready to walk towards the plane. He turned to her, smiled and said, "I love you more than life itself Julie. I will be home before you know it."

The plane took off and Josh left for IT (infantry training) followed by deployment. He did not know at that time where he would be going - after IT, some went to Europe, some stayed stateside, some went to Korea. However, the majority getting out of IT went to Viet Nam. And that is exactly where Josh was ordered to go - to join up with a infantry unit in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam.

By September of 1967, school had started up, and Julie was enrolled in many tough classes. Staying busy helped keep her mind off of Josh - mostly off of worrying about him. She received a few letters from Josh every week. She so looked forward to receiving them - Julie would read them over and over again.

In late November shortly after Thanksgiving, Julie had not received a letter from Josh for over a week. This was unlike Josh, and very bothersome to Julie. As she sat in her dorm room trying to concentrate on an American History lesson, a knock came at her door. As she opened the door, she could see it was Josh's folks. This was odd, as she had just visited with them over Thanksgiving. Josh's dad looked at the floor rather than Julie. Julie looked at Josh's mom and all she could see was tears. At that moment, she knew the awful truth without anyone saying a word.

Josh died in a far away land, fighting for the freedom of people he had never met. He died away from everyone, and everything, he had ever loved. He went from being a young man with a future, to a statistic. He became one of 58,286 who were killed in action in Viet Nam. There would be no homecoming, no return to college, no wedding, and no "slew of kids" with Julie.

The story of Josh is one which is not repeated often enough. Although Josh's story is fiction, it is very close to the truth for a great many families in the 60's and early 70's. It reminds us once again as we come up to Memorial Day, Viet Nam was like any other war this nation has fought. All gave some, but some, like Josh, gave all.