Nineteen years ago I wrote the piece below. The Associated Press picked it up and it was published around the country. I had hoped that it would encourage others to—either on their own birthday or Veteran’s Day—do a brief search of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site. Even if they didn’t personally participate, or are or were related to someone who went, or are even too young to know what the war was, this is a very simple way to make a very personal connection.

The 19 men I write about below were born on the same day I was. We never knew each other, but we are brothers.

I encourage you. Go to thewall-usa.com. Search your birthdate. Learn something about those who shared something with you. Learn about their sacrifices. You will forever see their faces.

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12 November 1998

Yesterday was Veterans’ Day. Today is my birthday. I turn 50.

My service tour ended in 1970, and while it was nothing like that experienced by those you are about to cross paths with, I’ve never forgotten those days.

Today, I will be singing Happy Birthday not for myself, but for 19 of my brothers who were born today, 50 years ago, only six of whom made it to the age of maturity.

Their names are carved in black granite for, I hope, ever.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would read their names and think something about them. If you are familiar with the part of the country they called home, have a fleeting glimpse of the countryside or town that lost them forever. If nothing else, just read their names.

• http://servuclean.com/category/janitorial-service/concrete-floor-cleaning/ James Edward Widener was the first taken. Like me, he was a James, a New Yorker, an upstater, from Churchville, near Rochester, just 90 miles away from my home in Syracuse. The 18-year-old Marine private first class’s tour ended the same day it began, June 11, 1967, in Quang Tri province when his helicopter crashed.

• Appleton Loyd Eugene Kinsworthy, a 19-year-old Marine corporal from San Jose, Calif., had been in-country only two months. He was killed by a mine in Quang Nam on April 27, 1968. He was the only one of this group who was married.

• William Roger Campbell was from Butler, Penn. A Marine private first class, he died June 6, 1968 in Quang Tri province. He was seven months into his tour when his unit was ambushed. He was the last to die before I was drafted two weeks later.

• Jonathon Jeffrey Hawkins of South Bend, Ind., was the first draftee of this group to die. A private first class with the 11th Light Infantry Brigade, he was killed in a firefight in Quang Ngai on Oct. 10, 1968.

The next two, from widely divergent backgrounds, shared a common military history and fate, on the same day, Dec. 4, 1968. Both were single, draftees and Army PFCs. They died less than a month after turning 20.

• Blair William Two Crow, from Kyle, S.D., a Native American, was serving with the 11th Light infantry Brigade when he died in Quang Ngai.

• Gary Norman Whipple, of Claremont, N.H., was serving with the 1st Infantry Division when a mine claimed him in Binh Duong. He had left the “world” barely a month earlier.

• Henry Eugene Maul was born and raised in Worland, Wyo. He died in a firefight in Tay Ninh on Dec. 22, 1968. He was also a draftee private first class serving with the 25th Infantry Division.

• James Alfred Luckey, a draftee specialist 4th­-class from Ft. Myers, Fla., was serving with the 9th Infantry Division when he was killed in a firefight Jan. 25, 1969, in Dinh Tuong. He had been in-country only four months.

• Christopher Mitchell was the only black and first regular Army soldier in this group to die. A private first class from Chicago, he was serving with the 9th Infantry Division on Feb. 7, 1969, when he died exactly one month after entering the country. Two weeks later, my service in Korea began.

• Donald Ray Bartley of Lizton, Ind., was a Marine private first class who died in a Quang Nam firefight on March 19, 1969, exactly two months after joining his unit.
• Allen Tyler was the only Virginian in this group. From Montvale, he was a draftee corporal with the 1st Cavalry Division. He died in Tay Ninh on May 8, 1969.

• Eric Daryl Nadeau of Grand Forks, N.D., was the second and last regular Army soldier in the group. The specialist 4th-class was serving with the 101st Airborne Brigade when he was killed in a firefight on May 26, 1969 in Quang Tin.

• Gary Lee Evans was a draftee Army sergeant serving with the 191st Airborne Brigade as well. The Pebworth, Ky., native was a month away from going home when his helicopter crashed in Quang Nam on Sept. 3, 1969.

• Thomas Stephen Stafford of Port Huron, Mich., is the only sailor and reservist among the group. The seaman had just seen his 21st birthday the month before when he was killed in Kien Phong on Dec. 21, 1969 by artillery fire.

• Don Ray Heimark, a draftee Army sergeant from Lomita, Calif., was killed by artillery fire in Thua Thien on April 1, 1970. He was serving with the 101st Airborne Brigade. The week before he died, I was back in the States and released from service.

• Gerald Wayne Hay of Cincinnati, died in a firefight April 24, 1970 in Phuoc Tuy. He was a draftee private first class serving with the 25th Infantry Division.

• Peter Francis Nolan was killed in a firefight on May 8, 1970 with barely a month left in his tour. The draftee specialist 5th-class from Springfield, Mass., was serving with the 101st Airborne Brigade in Thua Thien.

• Mahlon Lewis Kelley was a Marine sergeant from Orlando, Fla. He died in Quang Nam on June 6, 1970 from rocket or grenade fragments.
• Robert Eugene Tucker was the last to die. He was six days past his 22nd birthday when his helicopter was shot down on Nov. 18, 1970 in Quang Nam. The Abbyville, Kan., native was a Marine Corps lance corporal. Ten days after he died, my wife Cinda and I were married.

Thank you for sharing our birthday with us. I am certain the guys on the Wall thank you as well.

When your birthday comes up, take a minute—just a minute—to think of those on the Wall who could be sharing it with you—or more especially, with their families and friends. You’ll make your birthday a little more special.

Not a birthday goes by that I don’t think of these guys. You are not fogotten. Happy Birthday!

(The Vietnam Veterans Memorial at thewall-usa.com makes it easy for you to find those who were born on your birthday. Take a look. If you’ve never seen their site, it is as about as moving as The Wall itself. Please take a few minutes to share your birthday with those who would be—and should be—celebrating as well.)