TexasAg1969 Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 I was just informed that my college roommate my first two years in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M died on the operating table while undergoing heart valve repair. Lt. Col. (US Army-ret.) Frank Baldwin, Jr was a decorated Infantry 1Lt. in Vietnam who went on to retire after 20+ years before starting a company of his own which he sold and retired from just a few years ago. I was lucky enough to see him again at a 50th class reunion in April at A&M and catch up a little bit. He was planning on coming down for a dove hunt with all our friends from our Corps unit this coming Sept. We'll all toast a beer to him when we end the hunt each evening, along with to our other friends departed in Vietnam and since. The world lost a good honest man and an unspoken hero to our country. Adios old friend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 RIP brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted June 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2019 As it turns out I got information from his eldest son that Frank was deeply involved in the planning and execution of Task Force Guyana to gather the remains of the over 900 bodies from the Jonestown Massacre. It was no surprise that he was later diagnosed with complex PTSD from that work and his Vietnam experiences prior to witnessing/supervision that mass body recovery effort. He had told me about the recovery effort when I saw him in April, but I did not know he was later diagnosed with and treated for the PTSD by the VA in recent years. That is one hellofa thing to live with I am certain. As he said "it was unspeakably horrific". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted September 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 Sad news too close to the last. Another guy in my A&M Corps outfit, Jim Taylor of Kerrville, Tx., died in his sleep after a very long battle with cancer. Former walk on football player and all-around good guy who was one of our dove hunting buddies. We will be having a muster ceremony on our dove hunt for the guys we have lost since graduation. If you are not familiar with it the name is called and one of us answers "Here!" for the man now missing. That usually occurs on Battle of San Jacinto Day, every April 21. But since most of the rest of us are at the dove hunt we will have our own just for the guys in our Corps Company class of '69. The most famous muster ceremony occurred at Corregidor during WW II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted September 5, 2019 Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 Unfortunately the older you get, the more funerals you attend (including your own, in spirit). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjp28 Posted September 5, 2019 Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 Sorry for your loss. I always believe that as time goes by you will remember the good times more and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted September 5, 2019 Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 28 minutes ago, DieHardBrownsFan said: Unfortunately the older you get, the more funerals you attend (including your own, in spirit). Yes,,,,,I lost a good friend I have known since 7th grade just on Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted September 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 2 hours ago, The Gipper said: Yes,,,,,I lost a good friend I have known since 7th grade just on Tuesday. Sorry to hear that Gip. I am lucky to still have a good friend from 7th grade alive and well in Florida. My wife isn't even jealous of our friendship which is a real plus. She was the first American my age that I met when we moved to Venezuela. You can't buy friendships like that which have lasted that long, so I understand the depth of that loss Gip. We're coming up on our 60th year of friendship this November. That just dawned on me as I was responding to your loss. 1959. I'll have to send her an email to remind her. I can almost hear the, "Holy Shit!" right now.😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted September 5, 2019 Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 2 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said: Sorry to hear that Gip. I am lucky to still have a good friend from 7th grade alive and well in Florida. My wife isn't even jealous of our friendship which is a real plus. She was the first American my age that I met when we moved to Venezuela. You can't buy friendships like that which have lasted that long, so I understand the depth of that loss Gip. We're coming up on our 60th year of friendship this November. That just dawned on me as I was responding to your loss. 1959. I'll have to send her an email to remind her. I can almost hear the, "Holy Shit!" right now.😁 Fortunately, I still have quite a number of friends that I have know nearly that long. Coming up on our 50th class reunion next year, and helping out there. In fact....just today I sent in friend request on Facebook to a girl from school who I have probably not seen since we were only a year or 2 out of school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted September 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 1 hour ago, The Gipper said: Fortunately, I still have quite a number of friends that I have know nearly that long. Coming up on our 50th class reunion next year, and helping out there. In fact....just today I sent in friend request on Facebook to a girl from school who I have probably not seen since we were only a year or 2 out of school. When you move away in the 7th grade you eventually lose track of friends from that time. Most of my long term friends are ones I made in Venezuela and another group from my time in the Corps at A&M. Probably not a bad thing since many from that time in Beaumont had a lot of prejudices that I outgrew in a totally different culture with a new language to add to the repertoire. Plus it made me unafraid to visit other countries & cultures. Even Paris! LOL!😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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