Three friends got together and shared a meal on Friday, April 13. Normally that is not an unusual event, but in this case the meal brought together three men who had not been in the same place for 50 years.
Vietnam veterans Troy Jones, James Gibson and Bobby Bingham—who are all three from Kentucky—became good friends while they served
together in the Army's 25th Infantry Division in 1968. They rekindled
those friendships recently at the Chef Sampler at the ASPIRE Center,
as Jones hosted the reunion.
A couple of other fellow soldiers—one from Wisconsin and another
from Ohio—were scheduled to also share the dinner, but neither were
able to make it. Still, the gathering was a special one that all
three men will remember.
"Fifty years ago this year we were in Vietnam," said Jones, as he
talked about the experience. "We didn't know each other until we got
over there, but we became friends."
Jones was 25 years old when he went into the Army. He describes
himself as an "old farm boy" who had never been away from home. He
did basic training at Fort Knox, which is also where Bingham did his
basic training. They were there at the same time but did not meet
until they got to Vietnam.
Jones knew that Gibson was from neighboring Clinton County, though
he spent his working years living in the north. But he did not know
that Bingham was in Kentucky, until they began to talk a few months ago.
Gibson had retired back to Clinton County recently and he and Jones
sometimes talked. Gibson was visiting Jones several months ago, and
Jones wanted to order a license plate from the supply store in
Lexington. He sent in the order, not knowing that it would be
received by his old Army buddy Bingham.
"He got my order and he recognized my name. He called me, and I
remembered him," said Jones.
From there, the idea of bringing some of the guys back together
formed. They decided to meet in Monticello. Jones thought that the
Chef Sampler would be a great place for them to reunite and enjoy a
meal.
"We just wanted to see each other and to talk," he said. "We met at
my house and spent the day and then we went for dinner...We sure
enjoyed it."
They say once you are friends, you will always be friends. That
proved true as the three men began to talk about their shared memories.
"We were really close over there...It was just like seeing some of
your family come home," said Jones.
"We just talked about Vietnam," he added. "What we could
remember....how some of the others messed up."
At the forefront of Jones' memories is Easter Sunday 1968. That was
the day that he was hit in the leg with shrapnel. He added that
usually holidays were difficult in country, since the enemy knew they
were going to try to celebrate. He said something always happened to
try to prevent them from enjoying holidays.
Jones received two Army Combat medals, two Purple Hearts and the
Bronze Star for his service. It is an experience that he and his
fellow soldiers will never forget.
"I dream about it all the time," said Jones. "I was talking to a man
years ago, who was a a World War I veteran. He asked me if I dreamed
about it, and I told him that I did. He said, ‘You always will. I
still do and I was in World War I.'"
Jones said the man then asked him where he was in his dreams.
"I told him that I am here in the mountains of home. He said I am
too. I am not over there, they are over here," Jones shared.
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