By Sgt. Brian Glass, DVIDS
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – For soldiers serving today, they would not be here without the blood, sweat and tears of service members who served before. Whether it be World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, etc., our brave men and women have fought to protect their country. One thing with soldiers serving today is that they will jump through hoops to do anything for Veterans and Spc. Joseph Brown, unit supply specialist for Headquarters Headquarters Battery, 18th Fires Brigade spent some time with a Veteran and loved every minute of it.
Spc. Joseph Brown, unit supply specialist for Headquarters Headquarters Battery, 18th Fires Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division plays checkers with James Butler, retired Vietnam veteran Nov. 20 at the Cumberland Nursing and Rehab Center in Fayetteville, N.C.
The veteran is James Butler, 64, was drafted in 1969 and went to Fort Bragg and shortly after was in Vietnam from 1970-71. Butler is proud of being in the Army despite being drafted into the service as it gave him greater opportunities in life. Now he resides at the Cumberland Nursing and Rehab Center in Fayetteville, N.C. Brown went to visit him and was excited to see Butler and learn of his past.
“He was very interesting, he has a lot of good stories to tell about the history of Fort Bragg, what he did on Fort Bragg and what he did in Vietnam,” said Brown.
Along with talking about the differences between the Army then and now, they got to spend quality time together by playing a few games in the common room.
“We did some activities together, we played a matching card game and I lost to him at checkers. He is definitely better at checkers than I am,” said Brown.
“I think he was excited to see me and talk about how things have evolved in today’s Army,” said Brown. “He was definitely inspirational because he sacrificed so much for us while serving in a time when most people didn’t support the war. You look today and we have much more support available to us.”
Read the full article by Sgt. Brian Glass from DVIDS.
