Pam and I were to be married Labor Day weekend 1971 prior to my deployment to Vietnam. She was a nanny to Lieutenant Colonel Tony Spackman, the British Liaison Officer at Fort Sill. We met in late summer 1970 at the Artillery Hunt, where I was riding to train for the US Modern Pentathlon Team. I’d been offered a three-month trial at Fort Sam with the team after winning the Army triathlon championship in 1970 at Fort Sam. I elected to defer it since I had just changed jobs, just having started to teach artillery survey at the Target Acquisition Department. Since horseback riding was one of the events, I started riding and taking lessons, half boarding a horse at the Artillery Hunt. The Non-commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC), a crusty Sergeant First Class (SFC) with a penchant for chewing tobacco, played matchmaker and steered Pam to the horse I was half boarding.
We met, and since Pam was planning to take an American history class at Cameron Community College, I offered to take her since I was taking some biology courses for premed. Our first “date“ after class the first night was to a local bar where Pam, on her salary of $17 per week, bought the beer – my wallet was empty after paying cash for gas. In spite of that, we fell in love. A classmate returning from Vietnam, spent a night with me. “Why are you getting married before you go to Vietnam?” he asked, “you may not come back, or you may be gravely injured, Pam could be pregnant.” I (no discussion, a lousy never repeated process) announced to Pam the next day that we wouldn’t get married before I went to Vietnam. After the MATA CORDS course for Army officers with orders for Vietnam as advisors that was located at Fort Bragg, I attended Defense Language Institute at Fort Bliss studying Vietnamese. However, as I walked in for my final exam in November 1971 was informed my orders were changed, I was heading to Korea in January 1972, instead. God has a sense of humor!
Prior to deploying to Korea, I spent a week in England, reconnecting with Pam and meeting her family. Communication by snail mail in those days took about a month for a letter and reply. Phoning was $10 for three minutes payable in advance, so I only called late at night to England, ensuring that Pam would be home with her parents. When we decided on the wedding date Pam said Tuesday, May 22. However, actually May 22 was a Monday, I discovered later. Are we getting married on Monday or Tuesday? This is about three weeks before the wedding date. Some logistical issues – can Rick Frykman, my best man and West Point classmate, get there? He did!
I also asked John Feagin, our orthopedic surgeon while we were cadets and later, my first orthopedic mentor. He was in England doing a total hip fellowship with Sir John Charnley, the “father” of total joint surgery in Manchester. John, and his family arrived in their black taxi for our wedding.
I arrived several days prior, about May 19, after making the trip from Chun Chon (1/42 FA) to Seoul, where I met the 10 Korean orphans, aged 9 months to five years, from Holt Adoption Agency that I was to escort. (I learned about the need for escorts for Korean orphans at a cocktail party. I let the Holt Agency know that I was willing if they had anything available at the time I wanted to travel to England. I was considered a temporary employee of KLM at that time and I returned to Korea under that temporary assignment with Holt.)
Getting from Korea to England wasn’t easy in 1972, nor was it inexpensive. Working as an orphan escort solved those dilemmas. Flying was more lax in 1972. I was usually caring for one child on my lap and at least one child on each side seat. While in the air, there was a constant round of feeding, diapers, calming and entertaining the kids. God bless the flight attendants who helped provide some “adult supervision”. An “older woman“ (about 50 whose husband was at the British Embassy) was the other escort. She knew her limitations. She cared for 2 to 3 of the kids leaving the remainder to me and the KLM flight attendants. We flew from Seoul to Tokyo where we changed planes, then to Anchorage where we refueled, then on to Amsterdam where six of the children and the “older” escort left me. The four remaining kids and I flew to Gothenburg, Sweden, two to meet their new families, and then the remaining two and I flew to Oslo. After leaving the two children with their new families there, I flew on to Heathrow.
After about 35 hours in airports and planes, I transferred from Heathrow to Paddington station exhausted. My brain at that stage wasn’t firing on all cylinders. I remember stopping to buy an orange and candy at a kiosk in Paddington and just holding out my hand and letting the vendor take some pounds. After spending in Korean won, Japanese yen, American dollars, Dutch guilders, Norwegian krona and British pounds without sleep my brain was thoroughly muddled! After getting to Codsall and Pam’s family, it was wonderful, after tea, to get horizontal in bed for a few hours. The next day, Pam and I went to the railroad station to pick up an “aunt“. While standing there, I remarked to Pam how much a woman walking towards us looked like my mother. Pam replied, “It is your mother!”
After the wedding and a brief honeymoon, I flew back to Korea and recovered from my jet lag to England by returning to Korea.
While doing my orthopedic residency at Tripler in Hawaii in 1977, we adopted Rachel at 10 months, a Holt baby. In 1987, while on Temporary Duty (TDY) to the 121st Evacuation Hospital in Seoul, Pam brought both our daughters to Korea for spring break and we visited Holt Adoption Agency thus closing the loop.
What a GREAT story!! Donna and I always wondered how you and Pam found each other…and now we know.
Thanks Tom
Two days ago I was with Phil Smith and your name came up in the conversation. I mentioned that I’ve always wanted to ask you … and that I keep forgetting … how you met your wife! Now I don’t have to ask! That was a great story, Thanks.
Great to hear from you, Ray. Thanks for what you have done for our classmates.
Please give Phil my regards when you next see him. Stay safe on your bike and hope you and your bride are getting your shots.
Great story, Bruce, thanks for sharing it with us. I remember the FA Stables as being part of your romantic voyage, but this fills in the blanks. Ah, the lengths we go to for the ladies we love!
Thanks Eric.
After we both did jump school in 1967, I did AOT with A Co 2/325 INF
At Ft Bragg in 68. I was invited to lunch in Southern Pines by my high school (NYMA) dean. I met Jay Cox, NYMA 55, USMA 59 there. He was ten years our senior. Jay spent 3 years with the US Modern Pentathlon Team. Amazing coincidence! I wonder how many of our class know Jay
Hey, Bruce! Great story. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks Steve
Keep making those rosaries.
On the surface Bruce just looks like a guy you want to have a beer with. He’s funny, always smiling and you could be easily fooled that he’s just a normal guy. We were in the same company A4 and same branch Field Artillery – for awhile. I remember getting the news that he was an Orthopedic surgeon and remember watching him pace the sideline during an Army game at Michie as doctor for the team. Underneath that calm demeanor is an amazing example of drive and ambition. Did anyone have more irons in the fire than this guy? Bruce – Well Done. You and Pam make a story for the ages.
Thanks Rick.
Great story, Bruce. I had heard bits and pieces, but this brings it all together. Keep ’em coming!
Thanks Pete
We had some Amarillo Friday night with our older daughter and thought of great times in South Africa!
Bruce,
I made the mistake of viewing you as a laid back, easy going guy. I got tired trying to keep up with all your activities. Thanks for a great story.
Ron
Thanks Ron!
Bruce,
Congratulations from Kappy and me on your and Pam’s 49 years of marriage. We will celebrate our 48th anniversary in June.
Thank you for your dedicated service in the Army Medical Corps.
You Army orthopedic surgeons have been keeping us walking erect — starting with my first knee surgery at West Point with Doc Feagin!
Best regards, Army Strong.
Thanks Geoff. Great to hear from you .
Loved reading your story as I have loved many of the stories here. I
have known Suzanne Rice since grade school and was at her wedding and caught the cake as it was melting in the summer sun of Illinois! My husband and I have three Korean children and of course know a lot about Holt! I was lucky to go there several years ago with two of my daughters. Suzanne and Bill gave my first son his Korean Hanbok for his first birthday! What a small world!
Thanks Marcella
We lived in Hawaii from 76-80
We wanted to adopt a Holt baby and discovered how by serendipity it was much quicker in Hawaii than the remainder of the US.
Bruce, I loved your story – what an amazing string of events. I was deeply touched by your help to the Children from Holt. So nice. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Diana
Bruce, so glad to read your story and hear about your marriage and success as a doctor.
Thanks Pam. Great to hear from you.
I would love to catch up on the years.
Hey Sir! What a great story! And as we say in the military, “small world!” I was assigned to the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team from 1979-1982. After a few more assignments, I ended up as an Instructor with the Dept of Foreign Languages at USMA the same time you were there at Keller, 1989-1992. My wife, Teresa, a former Army Nurse, worked at Keller and remembers working with/for you then. I’m sure we met and crossed paths at least a few times while there. Hope this finds you doing well!!
Bob,The connections are amazing. I had a good friend at Fort Sill who ended going down to Fort Sam as the swim coach for the pentathlon team – Jack Ryan and when he left I became the age group swim coach at the Lawton YMCA which was a wonderful experience for about a year. I think I remember your wife. I can’t recall for certain that you and I met but we certainly might have. It’s funny all these connections, actually one of the age group swimmers that I coached became a nurse and actually visited us when we were stationed in Germany. She’d gone from being an awkward 13-year-old to a mature woman woman which was a real eye opener to me and was the first time I really appreciated that I must be getting older!