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When we formed the Covington Veterans Foundation, we adopted the motto, “A soldier never dies until he is forgotten.” The author has tried to keep soldiers’ and sailors’ stories alive by writing them for the Andalusia Star News. They in turn have posted them online and we have shared them on Covington Veterans Foundation page on Facebook. Some are also available on our website, covvets.com

Most veterans are proud of their service and don’t mind letting us write their stories. We always get the subject’s approval before publishing. Many Vietnam veterans have not wanted to tell their stories because it brings up bad memories, causing the veterans “to relive” them. The author understands that and we’ve lost several great stories because that was the case.

With all that being said, we encourage veterans or families of veterans, to contact the author through the Star-News, john.vick@andalusiastarnews.com if they would like to have their story told.

Below is a questionnaire that gives the information needed by the author. If you would like to help keep a veteran’s story alive, please respond to the author, John Vick.

• We need date and place of birth and the following:
• Parents names, number of siblings;
• Education, high school, college, etc.;
• Part time jobs before joining the military;
• Drafted or volunteered. Date and basic training location and any advanced training;
• Date of deployment, location, arrival date, where sent after arrival;
• Make an outline of “in-country” operations in Vietnam or where ever deployed;
• Make notes of any battle action. We can question you in person about specifics;
• Date of return, date of marriage and spouse’s name;
• Post-war education and work history;
• And finally, awards, medals etc.

We appreciate the cooperation of those veterans and family members of veterans whose stories have been documented through this outreach, and look forward to writing many more. In this special season, we count among our blessings the service and sacrifice of all who served our country so that we might enjoy the blessings of America.

John Vick