The Forgotten

Memory Of Fallen Friend Leads To Fitting Veterans Day Tribute

It’s amazing how a fire can be sparked by a seemingly innocuous question. In Ronnie Foster’s case, that simple question led to a four-year quest to document the fallen heroes of Collin County.

Roughly half a decade earlier, Foster bumped into a former high school classmate who asked, "Whatever happened to Bill Bryan?"

Yes, what did happen to Bill Bryan? Foster knew that his former buddy, the guy he enlisted in the Marines with and boarded a train bound for boot camp with two weeks after graduating McKinney High School in 1966, the guy who decided with Foster to serve his country as a tough-as-nails, chew ’em up and spit ’em out Marine, died in Vietnam. But how? And why?

Most importantly, why did no one really know what happened to Bill?

"Thirty-five years later, I realized people like Bill were slowly fading away," Foster said. "I decided I was going to find out exactly what happened to Bill Bryan, and that’s how it all started."

What started that day was a project that took over much of Foster’s life. He decided to document the names of every McKinney man to die in Vietnam. That wasn’t enough, he later decided, so he decided to document the name of every Collin County man and woman to die while serving their country during wartime.

But first came Bill.

Bryan and Foster were close friends at McKinney High School, and both were emboldened with a spirit of adventure. And for both men, whose families couldn’t afford to pay for college, working a part-time job so they could go to Grayson College wasn’t enough. So, they enlisted in the Marine Corps with a war going on.

"All the guys in school were saying, ’Man, you guys are crazy.’ That’s why it was so crazy because everybody was trying to figure ways to stay out [of the service]," Foster said.

Foster and Bryan lost each other at boot camp. Foster survived his tour of duty with the 1st Marine Division. Bryan wasn’t so lucky, however. His unit was involved int he first leg of the Tet Offensive and came under unexpectedly heavy fire. Bryan was hit while trying to lend assistance to two of his men who had also been wounded.

And there it was. Foster’s best friend in high school, the guy who he set out with to conquer the world, died a hero’s death in the jungles of Vietnam.

So, Foster had gotten to the bottom of his friend’s death. What next? That part was divine inspiration. Foster set out to track down the two men who had seen Bryan last, the two men whose lives he had helped save. Find them he did. Lionel Guerra and P.J. Pagano were with Bryan the day he died. And they were the only two men in that unit who survived the day. But the two men had gone their separate ways after being Medevac’d off the hill.

Guerra recalled that fateful day of January 20, 1968.

"I was shot through the arm with an AK 47 and Pagano was hit in the leg," he said. "[Bill] was giving the command to radio in too much contact when he saw me get hit and tried to assist. He was shot and killed."

It was Foster who brought the two survivors back together. He arranged a reunion in 2004 in the hometown of the man who died lying between Guerra and Pagano. Using various resources, including veterans message boards on the internet, Foster tracked down the two men and made contact.

"I felt like vomiting when he called; I got really nervous," Guerra said. "I was shaking. I had to get my compusure back and calm down."

Guerra and Pagano had made contact a year earlier, but it hadn’t gone as well as Guerra would have liked.

"We had this feeling of guilt for being alive," Guerra said. "The reunion was quite emotional."

The reunion was made even more emotional by the arrival of a third party. Before Bryan died he had married his high school sweetheart, Diedre. They were married one month before Bryan’s death.

"Diedre said, ’I always had this fear that he died alone,’ and that was the farthest thing from what happened from what really happened," Foster recalled. "He died with guys who were closer than brothers. That’s when I decided to start researching these other guys from McKinney who died."

What resulted from that research is a complete list of all the Collin County soldiers who died during wartime. What also came of Foster’s hard work was inspiration for a book about the Collin County warriors who lost their lives in Vietnam. After countless hours spent poring over old newspapers, working the internet and contacting government agencies, it paid off. "One Day As A Lion" is the end result of Foster’s blood, sweat and tears, and it is fitting - and entirely coincidental - that the book is set to be released shortly after Veterans Day.

"One Day As A Lion" won’t be Foster’s ultimate legacy, or his final tribute to the fallen. The McKinney Veteran’s Memorial Park grew out of Foster’s hard work with some help from city officials and assorted friends. Foster said he will donate proceeds from the book to the Memorial Fund.

In the meantime, Guerra is just happy his heroes are being honored and, most of all, remembered.

"I am grateful for what RD [Foster] has done," Guerra said. "We were all young. We did our best."