Email   Print   Share By Heather Graham-Ashley, Sentinel News Editor

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Clockwise from top left: Ron Crews, Frank Scharff, John Douglas Jerry Schiess all served as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol Soldiers in the Vietnam War. Dawn Pandoliano, Sentinel Design Editor

Ron Crews, Frank Scharff, John Douglas and Jerry Schiess who served as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol Soldiers in the Vietnam War are reunited during Fort Hood’s welcome home event Monday. Dawn Pandoliano, Sentinel Design Editor

By Heather

Graham-Ashley

Sentinel News Editor



Frank Scharff will never forget the reception that met him when stepped off the bus at the San Francisco airport following 18 months of service in Vietnam. Protestors flung fresh vegetables and flour at Scharff and his comrades as the Soldiers got off the bus to meet their flights home.

Scharff also will never forget the homecoming he received Monday at Fort Hood, more than 40 years later. He was among nearly 700 Vietnam veterans honored and thanked for their service. A heroes’ welcome they all long-deserved.

At that ceremony, Scharff not only found other Vietnam veterans, he also found his brothers-in-arms, fellow Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol members, from his service in Vietnam.

That day, Scharff and three of his brothers reconnected over stories and experiences they shared 40-odd years in the past and thousands of miles from home.

They recalled their feelings of being outcasts because of the self-sufficient nature of their missions.

“We were the black sheep of the 1st Infantry Division,” John Douglas said.

Douglas and Ron Crews came to Fort Hood together for the ceremony.

When Crews first reconnected with Douglas in 2009, it had been 41 years since the two had seen each other, but it was a day neither would ever forget.

“We were shot on the same day,” Crews said about Douglas. “I helped patch him up and put him on the helicopter.”

About 15 minutes later, Crews also was being loaded onto a helicopter for medical evacuation following a gunshot wound.

That was the last time the two saw each other until 2009, when Crews sought out and finally found Douglas.

The two men were one day from becoming Army Rangers, as the LRRP adopted the 75th Ranger Regiment name the following day, Crews said.

At Fort Hood, Crews and Douglas ran into Scharff.

Jerry Schiess was also looking to reconnect with his comrades from Vietnam.

“I got on the unit page, but didn’t see my name,” Schiess said.

Schiess sought out his brothers and found Scharff at a reunion.

On Monday at Fort Hood, they all came together.

Schiess saw Douglas and Crews after the ceremony and recognized the LRRP patch they were wearing on their shirts as the same patch he wore in Vietnam.

“I’m here today because these guys and guys like them had my back,” Schiess said.

Some of them admitted being hesitant to connect with fellow Vietnam veterans, while others actively sought their Vietnam brothers. Crews said he emailed Douglas awhile before the two reconnected. Douglas ignored the email, but, at the urging of his wife, Debby, he later responded to Crews.

Scheiss and Crews were eager to contact their brothers.

“We’ve been hunting for one another, looking to fill the void,” Crews said. “When you get hurt, there are a lot of blank spots. Those blank spots bring a lot of us together.”

Filling in those blank spots, sharing stories and remembering with fellow veterans has been helpful.

“They’re the only ones who understand,” Douglas said about his brothers.

For these vets, the isolation they felt after their experiences in the jungle and the cold shoulder they received when they got home caused them to push aside any and all ties to Vietnam for awhile.

Now, many of those veterans are reaching out, reconnecting and showing the hard-fought pride in their service. These four brothers were already discussing upcoming reunions and their plans to attend.

For some, getting to this point was a long road.

“It was about four years ago, after lots of counseling, that he felt OK enough to be proud of his service as a LRRP/Ranger, Debby Douglas said about her husband, John. “He finally bought his first veteran hat and it was a transforming moment. He is proud now, every single

day.”