For My Friend and Comrade in Arms John Sinnock

I just received the two Memorial Bracelets I ordered. They're very nice and appear to be of good quality. I am wearing John Sinnock's bracelet as I type. John was a friend and comrade in arms. John's MOS was armored scout I believe, but he served as a grunt in D troop, 3rd Sqdn., 17th Air Cavalry beside me. On the day he was mortally wounded we were walking toward a small ville in Tay Ninh province. We believed the Viet Cong had occupied it during the night, so we approached with caution. Still the first volley of fire from the village took us by surprise. An RPG rocket exploded in front of us and John took a chunk of shrapnel through his chest and lung. He was alive when we put him on the dust-off Huey but didn't make it to the field hospital. He was a good friend, a great dry sense of humor, and I wanted the bracelet to remember him by. Obviously it's been over 40 years and I haven't forgotten him.

When my daughter's high school class was studying the Viet nam war the teacher asked if any of the dad's were vets, and if so would they come and speak to the class. I talked about John. Our friendship, the laughs we had. I told them that John and I were only a couple of years older than they when this happened and that there were more than 56,000 other John R. Sinnock stories.

A good friend of mine, Tommy, was a Vietnam Marine. I remembered him telling me about a good friend of his who he served with in Nam. Name of Sylvester Land, another Jersey guy like Tommy and I, so I got the other bracelet for him. Whether he chooses to wear it or not, I know he'll appreciate it.  

Best regards,
Tim