As Veteran’s Day approached, former Charis Fellowship (Grace Brethren) pastor, Bob Smoker, was interviewed by the York, Pa., Daily Record. Smoker, who served in Vietnam in the early 1970s, has helped keep alive the memories of those who didn’t make it home. A portion of the story appears below. Click here to read the complete article and see photos of Bob’s experience in Vietnam.
‘Their memories stay alive through us’: York Vietnam veteran travels to honor the fallen
Bob Smoker came home from the service in May 1971, after serving a tour in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne, a member of the Second Battalion of the 506th Regiment, Charlie Company.
It was, coincidentally, the same company featured in the World War II saga “Band of Brothers.”
Before leaving for Vietnam, he had been an apprentice tool and die maker, and when he got home, he went back to the shop at the GTE-Sylvania plant on Roosevelt Avenue in York.
He kept a low profile. He didn’t talk much, if at all, about his service. “I didn’t make it an issue,” he said.
Click here to read the complete article and see photos of Bob’s experience in Vietnam.