“A brother and sister are clearing out their deceased grandfather’s home to get it ready to go on sale. When they open the garage, they get a huge surprise that puts them on a plane to a country far, far away.
Rows of towering oaks stood guard over quiet streets. Among them was an old, timeworn house – a relic from a bygone era. The house was lived in, painted with memories and the laughter of children, now grown up. Alex and Emma stood on the weathered steps of their late grandfather’s home.
Each breath they took was a reminder of a childhood spent playing in the yard, oblivious to the grown-up world’s worries. Today, they were going to clear their grandfather’s house so it could be put up for sale. But they didn’t know they were about to cross a threshold into the hidden chapters of their grandfather’s life. A story was waiting to be discovered, and a legacy was about to be revealed.
Tom Scarboro was a Vietnam vet. While Alex and Emma were growing up, their grandfather’s stories about his time away were few and far between. On occasion, he shared fleeting memories in the shade of an old oak tree in the garden.
But these were always more about the people he met than the war he’d fought. What he had seen and done was a locked vault, and whenever the two asked questions, they realized its key was lost in the depths of a heart that had seen too much. For them, the war was a chapter in a history book, but for Tom, it was the pages of a life lived and barely spoken of.
Alex and Emma had a cup of coffee before they headed outside to the old garage. When the door groaned open, it revealed a cavern of forgotten treasures. They stood for a moment to take it all in. Inside were relics of a life well-lived, but like everything else about their grandfather, it had remained shrouded in mystery. Dust-covered shelves were full of untold stories.
The first discovery was metals; they came from a brass tin high up on one of the shelves. Bronze stars and ribbons whispered stories they wished he could have told them himself. There were neatly folded uniforms on a clothes rack and a pair of well-worn boots in a corner. Then, Emma discovered a biscuit tin full of photographs, yellowed with age.
The pictures had faces of young soldiers. The expressions that stared back at them were snapshots of a brotherhood forged in a different time and place. They wished their grandfather was there to guide them through his story.
Beneath the photo autographs were letters. These were penned with love and longing and spoke of a heart that struggled to get the battlefield out of his mind. All were addressed to their grandmother, who had passed away shortly before Tom. The pages were filled with words of hope, some of fear, and all spoke of a gritty resilience. Emma and Alex fell into silence. This was the first time they’d had a glimpse into the emotional tapestry of the grandfather they loved so much.
It would have been amazing to check everything out in detail, but they also realized it would take them a lifetime just to clear the space out. If they got stuck in an investigation of their grandfather’s life, in the process, they might never finish. But as they dove in again, their excitement became palpable. In the dimly lit garage, Alex and Emma started piecing together their grandfather’s life. It was coming alive in their hearts, and they were beginning to realize that Tom’s whole life was evidence of the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
After a lunch break, Emma pulled something intriguing from a shelf. It was a box roughly engraved with Tom’s initials. Inside was a collection of documents and a marked map. Beneath them were more photographs, but these were different. They showed a young, sunburned Tom surrounded by Vietnamese kids. Some of the kids were on his back, and some sat on his knees.
As they carefully poured over the documents, something astonishing unfurled before them. Tom had played a pivotal role in a covert operation during the Vietnam War. The faded ink on the pages recounted a mission to save a group of orphans stuck in a small village in the middle of the battle zone. In gripping detail, the documents chronicled the harrowing journey to rescue the kids.
Tom’s leadership and bravery had saved the day more than once as his squad navigated through the perilous terrain to ensure the safety of those innocent lives. The marked map showed the location of the village where this heroic act had transpired.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Emma asked with a glint in her eye.
Later that evening, Alex knew exactly what was in her mind. She wanted to travel to Vietnam and see firsthand where their grandfather had walked and fought.
‘Great,’ he said with a grin. ‘I’ll book the trip for us first thing in the morning.’
Five days later, Alex and Emma landed in Ho Chi Minh City. When Tom was in Vietnam, it was called Saigon. Through contacts arranged by the veterans, they had met with, the two had come into contact with a local war expert who agreed to take them to the sight of their grandfather’s bravery. They traveled a further two days to the northern highlands and then set off on foot to the Song Ray Valley. The local expert, Minh, provided a running commentary about what happened where and to whom during the war years. They passed small villages every few miles until they finally crested a rise. Minh pointed at a small dot in the heart of the valley below.
‘That’s where your grandfather did what he did,’ he said solemnly. ‘That’s Mock Chow.’
Later, as they walked into the village, Minh told them this village still looked much like it would have in 1967. Houses and smaller buildings clustered closely together. They were made of bamboo, thatch, and wood and were built on stilts. In the center of the village was a communal area with a pagoda. This, Minh said, was where religious and communal activities took place.
He excused himself and walked in the direction of one of the bigger stilted houses. Minh reappeared with an old woman a few minutes later. He introduced her as Hine and asked Emma if she had the photograph of her grandfather in the village. She handed the picture to the woman. As soon as she saw the picture, tears started rolling down her cheeks. With Minh translating, she started telling Emma and Alex the story of their grandfather’s bravery.
Tom and his squad had been dropped off about three miles north of Mock Chow. Around them, the battle was reaching a climax, but they had one mission in mind. Intelligence had indicated that a group of young children who had fled the fighting in nearby villages were congregated in the village. The Viet Cong were advancing from the eastern ridge of the valley, and the American units were fighting their way in from the southwest.
The kids were caught in the middle. If they weren’t evacuated, they would die. Tom and his unit had fought their way to the village, and under relentless enemy fire, they collected the kids and hurried them to safety. In the process, Tom had lost three of his guys. On the way to safety, they were involved in three skirmishes with Viet Cong advance units, but the children were their priority. Tom and his men didn’t rest until all of
