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thedrifter
06-02-07, 06:10 AM
Vietnam veterans’ reunite in city

By Jill Jedlowski
jjedlowski@dailyherald.com
Posted Saturday, June 02, 2007

They had to go Vietnam to meet, and nearly 40 years later, they had to travel to Naperville to reunite.

Jay Boone and his fellow Marines last saw each other in 1968, soon after which they lost touch. But thanks to a database, some of them started reconnecting last year through notes and phone calls.

On Thursday, the military comrades from the Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, came together again from all across the country. They met in Naperville, which is home to one of the unit’s members, Jack Kerchner.

One of the first items on their itinerary: a trolley tour of Naperville on Friday. A group dinner is on the agenda tonight.

“We’ve been meeting and bonding,” said Jay Boone, of North Carolina, after the trolley ride. “The (wives) are talking and we’re trying to answer those questions we couldn’t answer for our spouses for years… That’s necessary when you put something in the back of your mind for so long.”

Kerchner, the only one of the bunch who lives in Naperville, said the reunion was emotional, and he expects it to get only more so.

“Everyone is just like we’d seen each other yesterday,” Kerchner said. “We’re back together again. We call this our family.”

Jim Jaros, who is visiting from Michigan, said he keeps in contact with some guys from another group. He’s hoping for the same relationship with this unit.

“Each time it gets more meaningful,” he said. “You get a little older, and our numbers get a little smaller.”

Ellie