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Luzerne County Transportation Authority divided over auditor selection

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Letter to the Editor: Don’t hit panic button over Crestwood School District’s finances

<p>In his fitful sleep, Ed Zimmerman can see the bodies.</p><p>Two men, fellow Marines, lie next to each other in a ravine.</p><p>Killed in the fighting near Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, on April 6, 1968, the men presumably were members of G Company. Zimmerman, an Edwardsville native who was then 19, belonged to F Company. He and others were scouring the battle zone during a lull in the combat.</p><p>He spotted the fallen duo, could see them well enough to know they had been stripped of their gear. Surely, he thought, members of the men&#8217;s unit will recover those bodies, get them back to the States. He moved on.</p><p>Or so he believed.</p><p>War veterans come home, coping with their experiences as best they can. Their ranks in the United States include a dwindling number of veterans who served during World War II, now mostly in their 90s, and those of younger generations, such as men and women who were involved in the nation&#8217;s war on terrorism. They return to normal life, mingling among people for whom &#8220;Khe Sanh&#8221; is familiar only as a lyric in a Bruce Springsteen song.</p><p>But what is &#8220;normal&#8221; after &#8216;Nam?</p><p>Or Normandy? Or Korea? Or Iraq?</p><p>Some veterans proudly march in parades; some retire their uniforms to the back corners of closets, never to be worn. Many seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder; many don&#8217;t ever sense the need. Plenty of veterans try to tuck away their war-time duties, experiences and memories in the distant past, only to have them spill out at an unexpected hour.</p><p>In 2009, Zimmerman saw information on the Internet about a memorial service held at Arlington National Cemetery for a Marine missing in action for 41 years. He subsequently learned that of the 32 Marines killed at Khe Sanh on that April day, only two had not been recovered: Pfc. Anthony John Pepper, of Richmond, Virginia, and Cpl. James Mitchell Trimble, of Eureka, California. Pepper was 20; Trimble, 19.</p><p>Zimmerman believes those are the Marines he saw in the ravine. He knows the precise location; he can see the spot.</p><p>Ever since realizing the young men had not been returned to their families and had not been formally buried, Zimmerman sometimes experiences nightmares. &#8220;They&#8217;re my brothers,&#8221; he told Times Leader reporter Bill O&#8217;Boyle for <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/550292/semper-fi-bear-creek-marine-veteran-on-mission-to-bring-two-brothers-home" target="_blank">an article in Sunday&#8217;s edition</a>.</p><p>Now 67 and living in Bear Creek Township, Zimmerman fulfilled his duty, and more, nearly five decades ago. He was awarded both a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.</p><p>Nevertheless, he intends to return to South Vietnam in August as part of a U.S. government recovery effort, hoping to find the remains of Pepper and Trimble.</p><p>Although he will travel with others, in many respects it is Zimmerman, alone, who must complete this mission.</p><p>The rest of us only can try to understand.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Marine veteran and Luzerne County native Ed Zimmerman intends to return to Vietnam this summer, he said, to assist a U.S. recovery team in its hunt for the remains of two Americans killed during the 1968 fighting at Khe Sanh. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Zimmerman-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Marine veteran and Luzerne County native Ed Zimmerman intends to return to Vietnam this summer, he said, to assist a U.S. recovery team in its hunt for the remains of two Americans killed during the 1968 fighting at Khe Sanh. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Learn more</strong></p><p>Read about recovery efforts conducted by the Department of Defense&#8217;s POW/MIA Accounting Agency at <a href="http://www.dpaa.mil/" target="_blank">dpaa.mil</a>.</p></factboxMeta></div>

Our Opinion: For Vietnam War veteran, mission of recovery continues − 48 years after battle