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About John Peel
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Vietnam war brother
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When Gay Holden's mother died in 1996 Gay inherited over 100 letters that her brother Tony had written to her parents during his time fighting in Vietnam.
Tony had beenÌýtravelling in the US at a time when there were 400,000 US troops inÌýVietnam and the war was escalating. Tony decided to join up, even though he was British, not American he undertook the tough training and came out with flying colours. In one of the letters home Tony dropped the bombshell to his parents and wrote:Ìý
Ìý
"I have gone too far now to turn back. I am a professional soldier of my own choosing and when called upon to lead 30 American soldiers in combat I will definitely go and do my level best for them. Have no doubt in your mind, I will be going to Vietnam."
From his letters, Gay has discovered more about her brother's adventures and the war and also recently traced some ofÌýthe platoon with whom he served.
She also found the flag, the Stars and Stripes that should have been draped over his coffin, 30 years after his funeral.
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