Tuesday Morning

By: Wiley "Tiny" Dodd

 I left my home in Michigan around 10 am as usual to drive down to my restaurant in Celina Ohio. It’s about 155 miles takes about 2 ½ hours. About an hour into the trip I was finishing up my 20 once coffee and was listening to some tunes.  Been in a little funk lately so I was playing some Travis Tritt crying in your beer stuff.  I was into the long boring part of the drive between Toledo and Findlay.  For  some reason unknown to me I turned off the CD player something I never do and was driving in silence alone with my whacked out brain.

A car passed me and I noticed the plate said Minnesota.  My mind went to Marlon Troxell a guy I never met but spent along lonely night in March 69. I don’t usually think much about it. We humped to the top of hill in the Chu-prong Mts. To assist Bravo company who had been in a fire fight that day. We arrived after dark  a black night with no moon.  We got on top the hill inside the perimeter Bravo had set, and had to pretty much sleep where we stood since we couldn’t  see to find a spot.

I went to lay down and bumped up against something on the ground.  I said what’s this? A bravo company guy said our KIA is there. So I laid down next to him he was wrapped in a poncho.  I couldn’t sleep at all. I thought about him all night. All kinds of emotion came from me. First I was sad he died, Then I was mad at him for doing this to his family, Then I was scared thinking one day soon I’ll probably be dead to.  It was a strange night.

Then I snapped back to reality, I was coming up on a trailer. There was a Nam sticker on the back bumper. It was an open trailer. I could see there were several large black boxes in it with Nam stickers on them.

When I went around it I seen painted on the side The Moving Wall.  It freaked me out it was like my thoughts of that night and the moving wall was connected.  I slowed down and let the trailer get next to me.  I saluted the boxes and thought Rest in Peace Marlon your not forgotten.