Found Letters from Vietnam: A Sister’s Tribute

Stephen Perry was funny. He was a musician, a dancer, the life of the party.

He packed a lot into his 23 years of life, all the way up until he was killed in Vietnam on his first day of combat.

He had been in the country 11 days when he died.

Last summer, KGNU’s Ginger Perry found a treasure trove nearly lost to the past, full of puzzle pieces that – when put together – built a picture of the last two year’s of Steve’s life. Through basic training all the way up until the day before he died. Steve was an RTO in the army – a radio telephone operator. That’s considered a very dangerous position – the average life span of an RTO is estimated at five seconds.

Narrated by Ginger Perry – Steve’s sister – and produced by KGNU’s Jackie Sedley, this show is one person’s story to remind us of the almost 60,000 American soldiers who were lost in that war, and the depth of that loss.

Listen:

Untitled Jackie Sedley

The piano was a familiar sound to Ginger Perry in her childhood household. She spent a lot of her upbringing in 1960s Connecticut listening to the musical stylings of her brother, Steven Perry.

Steve, as he was most often called, was the second youngest of four children. From home to school, those around him recognized and adored his musical talent. Outside of music, he was known for his humor and his kindness.

“I looked up to my brother, Steve, as a little sister does,” said his little sister Ginger. “He made things fun… I remember he once said, ‘If you ever have any questions about anything, anything at all, just ask me.”

Growing up, she spent most of her time with her brother. Steve was only four years older than her. The eldest siblings, Denny and Greg, were eight years older and nine years older.

In April of 1969, Steve was on leave from the Army during the Vietnam war. Home for 11 days, he played the piano and sang for his family, taking breaks to chat with – and lightly tease – his brothers. It was the last time the Perry family saw him alive.

He was killed in his first day of combat on May 14, 1969. He was 23.

It was in 2024, after her brother Denny’s memorial service, when Ginger discovered the other artform that Steve often practiced during the war: letter writing. In Denny’s house, which was to be sold and torn down, Ginger found a box full of Steve’s things.

In distinct and familiar handwriting, in a folder inside the box titled “Steve Military”, she found 55 year old letters addressed to her parents, to herself, to her siblings and to Steve’s friends. The folder also held Steve’s brown star citation, condolence letters from government and military officials after his death, an angry letter from a concerned community member, and more.

“I don’t know if I’d call it coincidence and chance, or really fate, that brought me to find [the letters], but I’m so grateful I did, because along with the reports was a treasure trove of things that make me feel the closest to my brother that I have since he was killed,” Ginger said.

Steve wrote and sent his first letter from basic training in Fort Campbell.

In chronological order, Ginger retold Steve’s experience during Vietnam, and the mark her older brother left on those that loved him – and still do to this day.