A small package
“R.J.” Carrier got there first, and in the package was an assortment of candy and cookies guaranteed to gladden the hearts of calorie-hungry teen-age Marines. I don’t remember what happened to that package, but our tradition in CAP 2-7-2 was — anybody receiving a package of goodies from home got first pick of the contents, then the remainder was shared with everybody in the CAP. That way everybody got some goodies from each package, the contents were consumed in one day and nobody was burdened with non-essentials during night operations.
Anyway, R.J. wrote the following thank-you letter to the woman who sent the package:
How are you, fine
I hope. You don’t know me
I received a package from you
yesterday, we just got back
from being evacuated
from a flood in our vil
I am a CAP Marine,
we protect villigis in
viet nam, from V.C.
infiltration supose to
anyway, (well anywas?)
Thank you very much I
wish there were more
people in the states
that thought about there
men over here.
thanks
Bob
I received a letter from you recently acknowledging the gift pac you received from me. I had addressed it to any Marine of your CAP and appreciated so much your taking the time to reply.
CAP 2-7-2 is rather special to me as my fiance, L/Cpl Dan Gallagher, was a member of it until his death in September of this year. One of the biggest regrets of both his parents and myself was that of not having very specific details about the accident. Perhaps it’s only natural to want to hear from someone who was with Dan when he died — yet he may not have been particularly close to any one of the Marines in 2-7-2 as he hadn’t been with your CAP long.
I don’t mean to place an unbearable task on anyone and if this is too much to ask, just disregard this letter. But I thought possibly one of the fellows might have recalled the incident and would be willing to write a letter. It certainly would mean a great deal to Dan’s folks and myself.
So, Bob, would you mind asking the Marines of your CAP if any one of them could do this? I haven’t mentioned this to Dan’s folks as I wouldn’t want to see them disappointed. Yet if I do receive a letter I’m sure they will appreciate seeing it.
Sincerely,
Lizbeth ——-
“Thornton, you’re always writing letters to people,” Willie said. “Write something to this lady.”
We knew Dan had a fiance, but knew little about her. He hadn’t been in CAP 2-7-2 long enough to get familiar with anybody and start sharing personal information. But I was well known in CAP 2, both for writing the most letters and getting the most mail in return. I wrote more than 80 letters to my parents from Vietnam, and dozens more to relatives, family friends, former teachers, and girls I knew from high school. That was a good way to fill the hours between patrols and ambushes. So I was tapped to write this “official” letter for the CAP.
So I wrote the following letter to Lizbeth:
Dear Miss Francis,
My name is Rock
Thornton; I’m a member
of CAP 2-7-2. I’ve been
here since last March.
We received your
letter asking how Dan
died and, for the last
week, I’ve been trying
to write something that
would answer your ques-
tions without going into
brutal details.
The basic facts are
that: Dan picked up
an anti-tank rocket at
about 6:30 PM on Sept.
10th as we were
getting ready to move
out to our ambush.
The rocket went off
and Dan was killed
instantly. Six other men
were wounded and one
of them also died, two
are still in hospitals.
If there is more
than that, which you
want to know please
write and ask. I’ll
do my best to ans-
wer.
I will be rotating
to the United States in
February. I will probably
spend a couple of
days, at least, in Cal-
ifornia. If you would
like to talk to me,
I could call you, or,
if possible, see you in
person.
I’m sorry that you,
and Dan’s parents haven’t
heard from us before
but it is hard to
think of anything ap-
propriate to say.
I also apologize for
what little there is in
this letter. It is not
easy for me to put
things into words. I
have only written because
I liked Dan and was
there when he died.
Sincerely,
Cpl Rock Thornton
USMC
Dear Cpl. Thornton,
I’m not sure I was expecting a return letter from Cap 2-7-2 but when yours came, I was so very glad that you had taken the time to write. And your letter was appropriate. I wasn’t looking for details about the incident … no details could make the real facts any easier to accept. But, if you can understand this, somehow there is just some consolation to be found in hearing from someone who knew Dan those last few days. Thank you so much for writing a letter that I’m sure was not easy to compose …
… Again, Cpl. Thornton, thank you for your letter – and the best of luck to you.
Sincerely,
Lizbeth ——-