A
Troop, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry 25th ID -
Vietnam
Personal Experience Narratives (War
Stories)
"Dog Tags: A Bond Formed in
Combat"
by David Olsen
4 years ago in 2010 I
was able to obtain the photo of one of our KIAs, James (Jim) Davis,
from his sister, Brenda Henson. Concurrently as I was working
on finding photos for our fallen troopers I was also
attempting to locate some of the troopers that I served with in the
3/4 Cavalry.
Shortly after getting Jim's photo I was
searching for John Tanner who had served in Alpha Troop. As a
result I was able to make contact with Cindy Tanner. She was
surprised to hear from me and told me that her husband, John, had
died in July 2009. I felt taken back hearing this and
told her I was sorry to hear about her loss. I asked her if
she recalled the names of any men that might have been John's
close friends. She then proceeded to tell me that James Davis
had been John's close friend. She stated that John and another
trooper were with Jim when he became a casualty. When her
husband placed Jim on the medevac dust-off John somehow came to be
in possession of one of Jim's dog tags. For
the remainder of his tour in Vietnam John Tanner wore his
comrade's tag along with his own. Upon returning to the
states John along with Cindy tried for years to locate Jim's family
but were unsuccessful. I recalled my conversation with Brenda
and let Cindy know that I had been in contact with some
family members that might want the dog tag back. I put the
two families in touch and assumed that in a short time the exchange
would be made and I would hear from one of them.
Years past and I had forgotten about it.
Today it is hard to recall why so much time went by and how these
two ladies had lost touch with each other. In early February
this year (2014) Cindy Tanner (Illinois) contacted me trying to
find Jim's sister Brenda (California) again. Apparently
she had managed to save up some money and was going to be in Las
Vegas, NV and wanted to personally return the dog tags to Brenda if
possible. To my surprise the two of them worked it out and
this month met each other and made the exchange.
I thought it was pretty amazing that after
so many years that the two of them would be brought together over
dog tags that were kept by a close friend. To me it was a
very special heart warming story of the love between and the
bonds that are made in serving with other men in combat. It
is hard for me to explain so I will not try here but it is
understood by those who have walked in these boots to know of what
I am speaking.
David
Olsen
A Troop
1968/1969
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4th Cavalry who served with the unit in Vietnam. Use is granted for
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