from Neighborhood to Nam. . .and back.

My husband Jerry and his friends are considering collaborating on a book about their experiences in Vietnam and the memories of the neighborhood that they grew up in. There are quite a few guys involved, but this photo is of Jerry in Vietnam.

The following is an excerpt that I wrote for the introduction to that book:

Growing up in a close knit neighborhood during the '50s and '60s was not unusual, it was the norm. Friendships were long and the bonds were tight. Friends walked to school together; joined Scouts together; played sports together; grew up together. They dated and married girls from the neighborhood. . .And, most of them went to war together, not as a group, but as single individuals. . .and those same friends parted ways for a time. Each moving on to a new phase of their life.

The neighborhood was 'Kaisertown', a Polish-American community on the far east side of Buffalo, New York. . .the war was Vietnam.

This book is a collaboration of stories and experiences from this group of men, childhood buddies, all now in their sixties, whose friendships have lasted a lifetime.

These are also recollections from those young men who stayed behind. . .'caretakers', as you will, of the old neighborhood that was a part of them. . .keeping the memories alive until all returned.