How can I sum up all the things he means to me? I can't, but today I would like to honor him by uploading this picture of him, at 17, when he was doing his tour of duty in Viet Nam. He was already a father of a baby girl. He had an extremely high IQ, and was so bored in school that he was always in trouble. His voice was beautiful, he played almost any kind of instrument with no lessons. Crazy man, I must confess, but had it not been for him, life would have been so dull. He would ride me on the handle bars of his bicycle, and refused to let me hold on to the handlebars, or him. I was crazy, too, or I would not have agreed to it. Especially riding down the steepest hill he could find!! I always, felt, however, that he would protect me. If some guy in the neighborhood threatened, or was ignorant to me, all I had to say was "Do you know Chuck Wallace?, I'm his sister." Before long they would be apologizing, and begging me not to tell him.:-DD! It was great!!I rode my first Harley-Davidson with him, he broke my middle finger practicing Karate on me. When he came back from "Nam" He became one of The WarLords - St. Louis, MO Chapter. Can you imagine a bunch of Harleys and bikers lying around on your parents' suburban front yard? When he left for Viet Nam, I knew in my heart he was coming back. I wish I had not bought a flask for him to take with him, though. It's sort of an omen to me now. Stranded in swamps for weeks at a time, unable to get rations, he and the other soldiers ate monkey meat, and whatever else they could find. Agent Orange, boot rot, friends being taken out by snipers, and nearly died two nights before he was to leave. Two of his friends lost their lives, but he was spared. While there, he became an alcoholic. This made him a force to be reckoned with. The Army tried to send him back to Viet Nam, instead, he jumped on top of his commanding officer's desk, and kicked everything off. He told him he was not going back! Needless to say, he was stockade bound. When he got out he went AWOL for 1 solid year. The MP's were after him once, and he had broken his leg about 3 weeks before in a motorcycle crash. They caught up with him. He was in a building with a laundry chute. He cracked off his plaster of paris cast, and got away down the chute. Once he had to be taken to the hospital for some fit he was having, after drinking grain alcohol. He had to be restrained by a straight jacket, and can you believe, he ripped himself out of it?? Oh my God, he was great!! But, he was troubled, and I was always worried about him. I love him so much, and I must tell him. He's so sick, and broken up now. I can hardly face it, but I will, and on this visit, I'll say all the things I've wanted to say for years. I'll tell him despite the agony of watching him self-destruct, he will always be one of the most awesome influences in my life. He made me laugh so hard, and made me cry, but I will always be grateful for the time he spent protecting our country. Happy Memorial Day, Chuck, and to my father, who fought in the Army during WWII! Oh, and you probably think Chuck's real name is Charles. Nope it is Clyde, same as our Dad's, but Chuck only used that name on formal documents. *Note: I once had it that he was a Hell's Angel. He, instead, was a WarLord. My brother died today. 12/13/2008