A Minnesota PBS Initiative
Care Package
My story is about my best friend, Woody Bren, a Marine Vietnam veteran, who is one year older than myself and grew up next door to me starting 70 years ago. Woody died a few months ago. He was buried in the National Cemetary near Dallas, Texas where he lived the past 10 years.
Woody had a very low lottery number and I lucked out with a high lottery number. In addition to Woody being drafted, he was told he was also in the Marine Corps.
During his year in Nam, I was in college. My Mom and I would pack "care packages" that we would send to him in Vietnam. One made it to him and his Platoon. Woody told me that he and his platoon had been in the jungle fighting for a long time and they were in tough shape mentally. Then the weekly amo chopper came in and hovered for it's max of 15 seconds (to avoid being targeted by mortors) to dump amo and packages.
The care package was on that chopper. It was filled with various kinds of canned food, chips, snacks, a jar of pickles and some sausage. A box of ammo fell on the care package and flattened it. Woody was given the flattened box and he laid out his poncho and deposited the contents on it. There was broken glass everywhere; as well as pickles. The platoon couldn't believe their eyes at what they saw.
We talked on the phone weekly over the past 40 years and Vietnam always came up in the conversation is some way or form. Woody was a real hero.
Woody told me that the care package arrived at the right time since the morale of the platoon suddenly skyrocketed as they all picked the pickles out from the broken glass and enjoyed the taste they had not experienced for some time.
Woody soon after succommed to malaria and had to be taken out of the jungle and sent to a hospital ship and then home. He suffered PTSD for his entire life and all of the baggage that is associated with PTSD.
We talked on the phone weekly over the past 40 years and Vietnam always came up in the conversation is some way or form. Woody was a real hero.
Woody never let me forget that care package and over the past 15 years or so he would regularly send care packages to solders in Iraq and Afganistan.
Woody Bren, Semper Fi
by, Jimmy Schoster; Woody's best friend.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Roseville, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Roseville, United States 
Story Subject: Memorial
Story Themes: Civilian, Correspondence, Death and Loss, Draft, Friendship, James Schoster, Jimmy Schoster, Mail, Marines, Memorial, PTSD, Read, Roseville, Woody Bren
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