Long Lost Friends

Part I: Reunited

When I was in the Army, I had a group of close friends. Two of them started with me in basic training, Olesh (Oly) and Provence. When we moved on to our advanced training at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, the group of two grew to a gaggle of seven. We added Curry, Endres, Fisher, and Anders to our little group, and together we learned the ins and outs of our military occupation. Between the seven of us, we performed probably over five thousand pushups, ran uncounted miles in the miserable Arizona sun, visited Nogales, Mexico too many times, fought amongst ourselves, fought others in defense of a D-3 (our class number) member, and grew closer than skin fast and tight.

Ft Huachuca patch

After we “graduated” advanced training (AIT), we were shipped out to Korea. At the reception station in Seoul, we received our first Army assignments. Two were stationed at Camp Humphries, south of Seoul (Oly and Provence), and the rest of us were assigned to the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade in Seoul, Korea. While Oly and Provence would visit occasionally, our group closed ranks, and the five of us did everything together. A few months after our arrival in Seoul, Bordeaux weaseled his way in. 

My tribe

I left Seoul in 1988 and eventually lost track of my tribe. Life before the internet made maintaining long-distance friendships difficult. Despite the promises of always being in touch, of always staying close, old friends slowly fade to be replaced with blurry photos and misty memories. When feeling nostalgic, I would attempt to locate my friends who still had pieces of my heart. I was always unsuccessful until one year I hit pay dirt and found Tony Curry.

501st MI Bde patch

Now fast forward to 2018. While Tony and I only sporadically communicate, our connection is still present and strong. One day in May he invited me to his wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico the last weekend in October. I am not a travel-voluntarily-to-a-warm-climate type of gal. My destinations always require sweaters, boots, and mittens. But for Tony, whom I haven’t seen since 1988, I made an exception. I invited my friend Amanda to be my plus one and airline tickets were purchased. I was going to Cabo - a beach - where shorts, tank tops and, flip-flops were the survival gear. I was excited and nervous to see Tony again but I couldn’t wait.

When we finally got to the resort, we couldn’t check in yet. So we went to one of the many restaurants for lunch and to wait for Tony and his future wife, Jamie. My heart was beating fast and I was nervous and antsy. I couldn’t quite take in the beauty of the location because it was so friggin’ hot and I just wanted to see Tony. And then finally he arrived.

30 years is a long time to wait for a hug. But the minute I saw him, time slipped away and I was with my friend. A piece of my heart came back to me.