Regretfully, my involvement and recollection of the year my older brother, Harry spent in Viet Nam was devoid of the man’s inhumanity to man. What I remember is once a month mom and I would bake chocolate chip cookies, pack them in a box littered with miniature marshmallows and send them to Harry. His letters reflected the appreciation of him and those in his command for the treat. Most of the cookies he jeered after his return home were ‘unbroken. “…and the marshmallows were like the icing on the cake.”

Recently while enjoying the company of a new friend, Linda S., we talked about our memories of View Nam. When I told her about using the marshmallows to cushion the chocolate chip cookies. She seemed amazed. “What a great idea,” she clambered. “Much better than using those styrofoam nuggets.”

In memory of Harry and all those he shared the cookies with I am baking several batches of cookies. One for Linda S., one for my sister, one for our younger brother, and one for Harry’s Vietnamese friend. I wish I had done more.