A Minnesota PBS Initiative
The Voice of My Father
Linda McBrayer is a Gold Star daughter. Her father was killed in Vietnam when she was just a baby. But a chance encounter brought the words of her dad to her through the diary that he kept. Almanac host Cathy Wurzer learns more about Linda's incredible story in this interview.
His last diary entry was dated Aug. 27, 1967:
Linda's father, Cpl. Thomas Soliz, a radio operator during the Vietnam War.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: St. Paul, MN
Story Subject: Family
I'm scared. Dear God, how I'm scared. We go north again tomorrow. Only the day before yesterday a man was killed and another wounded up there. The day before, Sgt. Anderson took three rounds in the gut.
I've had so many close calls and not one scratch. When will my luck run out? How many bloody Marines will I see? How many more people will go insane? How many more of us will die?
I expect no answers to my questions because a blind man cannot describe beauty and an idiot cannot discern right or wrong. I can only await the inevitable and ask, when will it be me?
Linda shared more of her story and read from the journal at TPT's Epilogue performance at the Ordway in June, 2018.
Story Themes: Almanac, Cathy Wurzer, Diary Entry, Father, Gold Star Family, Killed in Action, Linda McBrayer
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