In Memory - Loyde "Snake" Arender

My wife stayed with her cousin a couple of years ago to help her take care of her husband, Loyde in his final struggle against the effects of Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. Loyde, known as "Snake" by his Marine buddies served in 'Nam and it eventually cost him his life. Snake was a warrior and a poet. His work is even inscribed on a monument to soldiers from his county who died in Vietnam. His poetry is powerful and gives you an insight to what Vietnam vets experienced during and after the war.

I wrote this book for his memorial. It includes stories, comments from friends and fellow soldiers, and his poetry. Snake was, in addition to being a poet, was a hero. When his platoon walked into a minefield, several of his buddies were wounded. With VC in the jungle nearby, Loyde knew they had to get out of the exposed position, but getting out of a mine field would be dangerous. Loyde tossed the first of his wounded comrades over his shoulder and picked his way out with his buddy. Then he went back again and again. His commanding officer wrote up a recommendation that Snake receive the Medal of Honor. 

Unfortunately, his commanding officer was killed the next day and the MOH citation died going up the chain of command. Several of his fellow soldiers have worked on getting him the citation decades later.

Here is the story in PDF format.

God bless our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. We owe them so much!

© 2021 by Tom King 

So You Think Our Country Isn't Doing Right by Our Veterans

EVERY DAY I get a post or an email about how terribly our nation treats its soldiers. I agree. We should do more

So why by all that's holy are you people waiting for the government to do something?

These posts often crawl all over the government for not doing enough. Perhaps that's all true, although the VA and other agencies do help vets and often the help is substantial. If the help is erratic or too little, we can debate that, but it doesn't answer the real question.

What have you done for our soldiers lately? Have you donated money to a charity for soldiers. Volunteered your time in a VA hospital. Do you know a veteran that's having problems that you personally could help him with. Does a wounded/disabled vet in your neighborhood need help cutting his grass. Could you invite his kids to join your Little League baseball team?

A friend of mine is a retired officer and helps a soldier he knows who has a problem with alcoholism. He carries him to group sessions and to the hospital sometimes. He gives him little jobs when the guy gets into financial trouble. He does what he needs to do to help the guy. It's not easy. Sometimes his efforts cost him considerable time and effort, but he gives that time to befriend a fellow serviceman.


I know what your saying. How about you, Tom. What are you doing?  Okay, fair enough.  I spent almost a year of my life starting a center for independent living in East Texas. My darling wife was our primary support at the time while I managed to rake in just a few dollars here and there while I was writing a very complex federal grant. The center serves as many or more disabled soldiers as all the rest of its clients put together. I worked for months for free during the startup. I raised 1.5 million dollars for the center altogether and then stepped aside so that the people who run the center were all people with disabilities.

So, let me ask you again, "What have you done lately?"  It's all well and good to recognize that our wounded vets should be supported by our nation, but let's not forget. YOU are part of that nation. So, do something. You have no excuse for not helping. There are hundreds of charities helping veterans in need. It doesn't have to be a charity, though. In fact, if you're stopping with giving a few bucks to charity, you aren't doing enough.

You really want to help?  Great!.  Then go out and find a soldier who needs help and then do what you can to help him. Perhaps he's recovering from PTSD. Could you just lend an ear - let him tell someone his troubles? Perhaps he's struggling with alcoholism or homelessness or is in financial difficulty. Give him a job if you have one. Speak up for him with an employer you know. Help him get a job or a place to live.

For heaven's sake, do something! Don't sit around on your feather pillow and congratulate yourself for complaining about it on Facebook!  It's all well and good to lament the way our soldiers are neglected, but if you don't do something yourself, you're just bitching to make yourself feel less guilty for not doing anything!

That's just one man's opinion,

Tom King
(c) 2015