Author's Name: Joseph Donovan

Title: "Brothers at War"

we all grew up in the loop off of delmar at all saints parish. my brother mike donovan and my best friend todd deruchia were in the marines in 1969 we all went to vietnam. when i arrived at danang airport i was walking off the plane and i here this voice say hey joey and i knew who it was my brother mike. he just got done with his first tour and was going home on the same plane i arrived on. he asked me where i was assigned and who with and i told him mike co. 3rd battalion 5th marines i could see the fear in his eyes. he says to me there a bad ass outfit they call them medivac mike cause there in constant contact with the enemy. he says he is reupping for another tour and will be back in 2 months. i go to my unit out in the jungle and about a month goes by and we get orders to be picked up and taken to an hoa firebase to reenforce it cause oni has intel that the nva vietcong are going to hit it soon. we land at an hoa and i get off the chopper at the end of the runway and i here two guys talking on the other side of this fence i give my gear to my partner and tell him to take it to our bunker for i have to go see where this voice is. i knew it was todd's voice but i couldn't believe it. i walked up to this marine who was standing by this big artillery gun and asked him if there was a todd deruchia in this outfit he pointed to this hut. i walked over to this hut looked through the screen door and seen todd sitting in there i opened the door he looked up and we both started to cry. here we are 10000 miles from home and were together. we hugged shot the shit for an hour. two weeks later my brother comes back to nam and comes down to an hoa and one nite there we were three all saints kids in the same bunker 10000 miles from home.