The Rebound
A few years after we were released form Nam, I decided to visit Mark Fossie in Cleveland. “O’Brien!” he exclaimed as he reached over for a brotherly hug. His once blonde hair had faded, as well as his eyes that were once raged with fire. I sat down with Fossie in his living room and shared stories about our lives after the war. He was now a man selling cars at a local dealership. He began to talk well about his daughter, Cam, as she ran down the stairs holding tightly to her porcelain doll. She ran over to her father and sat on his lap as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Speak of the devil,” he laughed, motioning toward his daughter, “you remember Cam.” She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Fossie, giving a slight …show more content…
Kim and Fossie dated for about three weeks before he knocked her up and proposed.
Nine months later, they had Cam. But a few hours later, Kim died of a hemorrhage.
“I held her in my arms that night, and never wanted to let go, “Fossie started to break down.
I must’ve heard their love story a billion times: in camp, on long days of humping gear from one camp to another, our unplanned escapades, and all the way up to the day we flew home. He mentioned the adventures he shared in the green jungle with Kim. He spoke about the time they accidentally separated from the group and ended up finding a running waterfall that “sparkled like the diamond on her finger”. He reminisced about the time him and Kim stayed up all night, sharing embarrassing stories and waking the whole camp up from their howling laughter. She was not the rebound everyone thought her out to be: she was his everything.
I nodded slowly, pretending I am only hearing this story for the first time.
Fossie’s memories were alive and breathing in the heart of this little American-Vietnamese girl he carried in his arms. When she peacefully rested in her father’s arms, Fossie and I both knew that this specific memory of his was
A few years after we were released form Nam, I decided to visit Mark Fossie in Cleveland. “O’Brien!” he exclaimed as he reached over for a brotherly hug. His once blonde hair had faded, as well as his eyes that were once raged with fire. I sat down with Fossie in his living room and shared stories about our lives after the war. He was now a man selling cars at a local dealership. He began to talk well about his daughter, Cam, as she ran down the stairs holding tightly to her porcelain doll. She ran over to her father and sat on his lap as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Speak of the devil,” he laughed, motioning toward his daughter, “you remember Cam.” She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Fossie, giving a slight …show more content…
Kim and Fossie dated for about three weeks before he knocked her up and proposed.
Nine months later, they had Cam. But a few hours later, Kim died of a hemorrhage.
“I held her in my arms that night, and never wanted to let go, “Fossie started to break down.
I must’ve heard their love story a billion times: in camp, on long days of humping gear from one camp to another, our unplanned escapades, and all the way up to the day we flew home. He mentioned the adventures he shared in the green jungle with Kim. He spoke about the time they accidentally separated from the group and ended up finding a running waterfall that “sparkled like the diamond on her finger”. He reminisced about the time him and Kim stayed up all night, sharing embarrassing stories and waking the whole camp up from their howling laughter. She was not the rebound everyone thought her out to be: she was his everything.
I nodded slowly, pretending I am only hearing this story for the first time.
Fossie’s memories were alive and breathing in the heart of this little American-Vietnamese girl he carried in his arms. When she peacefully rested in her father’s arms, Fossie and I both knew that this specific memory of his was