The Guys

Intro by Dave Kuhary.

In another lifetime 5 young men went off to fight a war. Jim Banish, Terry Malley, Denny Buschle, Charlie Bach and Dave Kuhary first met at Parris Island South Carolina and Camp Lejune, North Carolina. We all were assigned an MOS ( military operation specialty ) of 0353 or Ontos crewman. The Ontos was a small track vehicle with six 106mm recoilless rifles. We went to Camp Pendleton for our training where we sort of bonded as young men headed off to war often do. Well that bond has endured over 40 years and we have been reunited again.

We all were issued orders for Vietnam and as the Ontos was being phased out of Vietnam we were all assigned jobs as infantry men. We were never all in the same unit in Nam but we were close enough to keep in contact.

The old pictures are of Terry, Jimmy and Dave on the USS Cleveland. Terry on the deck of the Cleveland and Dave having a beer in the bush.

We all survived the war and returned home and got on with the business of life. Working, getting married (some a couple of times) , raising families and generally trying to put the war behind us. We tried at first to stay in touch but slowly drifted apart.

A surprise call from Charlie on Christmas morning of 2004 started things in action again. By the end of the day I had talked to all of the guys. Our first full reunion occurred in the fall of 2005. We met in Aurora Ohio home of Dave and Amy. Denny and Pat drove in from Syracuse NY. Terry, Elaine and Jimmy came from Pittsburgh Pa and Charlie flew in from LA.

Left to right: Charlie Jim Denny Terry Dave

The meeting rekindled friendships that had dimmed but never faded. It also awakened in me a desire to understand what we were trying to accomplish in Vietnam. Issues a that as an nineteen year old I cared little about. All of a sudden I was trying to remember things I had long ago put out of my mind. Some of the guys felt the same as me and some just wanted to leave the memories filed away. In March of 2007 Denny toured Vietnam with a military tour company. In August of 2007 Amy and I traveled there with the intention of touring the country and doing some scuba diving. ( kuhary.blogspot.com ) I saw enough to know I wanted to come back with the guys. In the fall of 2007 we all got together again and started planning this trip. Unfortunately Jimmy will not be able to make the trip.

We Leave tomorrow