A Minnesota PBS Initiative
DOC KELLEY
In 1969, my husband Jim was drafted into the United States Army, we had been married almost exactly a year. Within 6 months, he was sent to Vietnam as a combat medic, serving in the 1st/501st, 101st Airborne Division. During the time he served in Vietnam, with the exception of a week of R and R in Hawaii, and two short phone calls, the only communication between us was letters.
Jim couldn't keep my letters, as they all had to be burned to keep them out of enemy hands, but I kept mine, tucking them into a special box. We moved many times in our first years of marriage, I always carefully took the letters with me, but I didn't read them.
Jim and I didn't really talk a about Vietnam, when Jim was asked about it by family or friends, he gave the briefest of answers.
Doc Kelley, 1/501 101 Infantry Co. Jan 1970- Nov. 70.
Little by little Jim and I started talking about the time he spent in Vietnam.
When Jim started developing health issues around a decade ago and some were attributed to being exposed to agent orange, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs came back into our lives. Little by little Jim and I started talking about the time he spent in Vietnam. I also finally got the courage to read those old precious letters Jim sent to me from Vietnam. Distance sometimes brings perspective, Jims letters written so long ago helped me.
I thought maybe I should write a book using those letters, many people encouraged me. Many of the people that encouraged me, had already lost their loved one, and felt maybe a book about war from the perspective of someone who was left behind would help them understand.
And so, I wrote a book, called DOC KELLEY A Vietnam Combat Medic's Letters to his Wife. It came out on Amazon a couple of years ago, and it has changed our lives. My husband has found friends that he made when he served with them in the jungles of Vietnam over 47 years ago, some of which he had been looking for for decades. I went with Jim to his first Charlie Company, 1st of the 501st, 101st Airborne Reunion, where I was able to meet and talk to his good friends that befriended and defended each other in a war 10,000 miles from home.
I owe those guys more than I can ever express.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Chisago City, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Bloomington, Minnesota, United States 
Story Subject: Family
Story Themes: 101st Airborne Division, 1969, Agent Orange, Bloomington, Books, Brotherhood, Charlie Company, Chisago City, Coming Home, Correspondence, Draft, Family, Forgiveness, James Kelley, Jim Kelley, Linda Pietenpol Kelley, Marriage, Medical Personnel, Read, Relationships, The VA
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