Friday, January 3, 2025
Gail. I am so sorry to hear that Jimmy's courageous battle with his disease has ended. Jim is free of pain and struggles now and has earned that lightened load.
I learned of Jim's passing with an email this morning from Pat E. We were all members of the same hooch at the 68th medical group in Vietnam. Jim never had a frown on his face back then, even when he pined for home and his loved ones. Jim was an obsessive talker and at times we had trouble keeping him quiet. He always had something on his mind and had to share it with us all. He was the heartbeat of our hooch and kept us laughing when things were not so great. I don't know if he ever slept! One of my fondest memories is how Jim would respond to a comment by saying "SHEIIIT" which if not clear, was his way of elongating a one syllable word into a sentence of its own. Jim and I spent 5 days on R&R in Taiwan together. I am sure that he shared that with you. We had such a great break from the nonsense in 'Nam that we really pushed the envelope on our return to our base. We technically were AWOL, but since we had a clear record, it was waived. I think Jim talked the officers out of imposing the penalty on us. Jim could be very persuasive.
The day prior to New Years Eve a few days ago I was having dinner at a restaurant in New York City with my wife, son, and his girlfriend. Somehow Jim's presence seeped into my mind and our conversation that evening included more than 30 minutes of my memories with Jim and our R&R journey. I promised to call him after the New Year, but here we are. "Never put off 'til tomorrow..."
My condolensces to you and your family. Jim was a special guy who had an unquenchable and magnetic personality that he proudly displayed with his broad smile and his bright blue eyes like the picture above. That is how I will remember him. Rest in Peace my friend. Marty
