Page 82 - Stand Down Vietnam

We all got on the airplane; it was mostly people from
the Embassy and some missionaries. We landed in Miami.
There is a beautiful picture in the Miami Herald
newspaper of our son Tim sitting on a truck at the
airport. The headline said: “Tim Gilliam eyes the US.
We flew to Atlanta. We got first-class seats. My
husband was the lowest rank Marine but, we got first-
class seats.

There was an elderly couple sitting in second class.
They asked Jean Rogers what was going on. When we were
getting off the airplane, Jean was handed a handful of
money and told that the couple wanted me to buy the
children some clothing because we’d lost everything in
Haiti. I think it was $75 which in 1962 was a lot of
money. That shows you the goodness of people.

Note: $75 in 1962 would be $628 in 2019

We went from Atlanta to Knoxville, where Kenneth’s
parents met us. We were home.

While Kenneth was in Japan and of course, Vietnam, I
lived in Kentucky. Kenneth had orders to Beaufort,
South Carolina; we were there a year and a half.
Kenneth received orders to Japan. Teresa, Tim and I
went to live in Dione, Kentucky, Harlan County, with my
mom and dad. The second time we rented a home and the
third time we bought one.

I had not finished high school when we got married. I
lacked three credits. So, while Kenneth was in Japan,
I went back and finished high school (1964-1965). I was
nine years older than all the other students. Many of
the teachers had been my classmates. I ate lunch every
day with my best friend from high school, Francis.