Joel was a young Black Man from South Texas down near Houston.
I'm not sure how close to Houston but that doesn't matter. He was
a bit older than me, but had alot of energy. He was a damn good
dog handler-I trusted him. His dog was good too!
However, what he was really good at was playing the piano.
He used to play at the Red Cross before we went to work and
draw an incredible crowd. It turns out that Joel played for
Archie Bell and was a true professional. Joel was one of the
most humble and yet talented people I have ever met.
However, it was more
than just talent---everyone in the 35th SPS K-9 liked Joel
(everyone on the base liked Joel!). He was special. He had
carizzma! He always had a smile on his face and something
good to say about everyone. He talked about his family and
was very devoted. One of his favorite songs that he played
on the piano was called "Eleanor". He really cooked on this
and had everyone rocking!
I left Phan Rang in
April of 1969 and went to Hickam AFB in Hawaii. Joel was KIA
in June of 1969 and word traveled very fast througout PACAF.
When an SP, especially a K9, got KIA the info hit the "street"
fast.
I was on a three day
break when I heard the news about Joel. No one saw me for
three days, until I went back to duty. I cried for three days
(and I was f-uped for three days too). It is very hard for
me to talk about this even now. Very, Very hard, and I'm not
ashamed to say I still cry and grieve for Joel.
In 1994 I finally got
to The WALL in D.C. and got to say goodbye to Joel. But it
really wasn't goodbye, it was really saying, "Thanks,
I'll see ya soon, wait for me".
I guess this is a bit
of a tribute for Joel, and hope it helps to remember him.
Craig Lord
