Archives & Manuscripts #14 - International League of Antiquarian ...

27 (Vietnam). Private Gordon Brule, Jr. Small Archive of Vietnam-era Letters. 1966 / 1967. $500
A small collection of letters
and ephemera pertaining to
Rochester, New York native,
Private Gordon Brule, Jr.
and his short and ill-fated
service with the Marines
during the Vietnam War.
The archive contains 16
letters from November
1966 until September 1967
from Brule to his family
back home, most from
American training camps,
two from overseas; various
prayer cards from his
funeral; newspaper clippings
discussing his death; and
five military documents. All
items are near fine or better
with folds from mailing and
minor tears from opening.
A stirring assemblage of
items illustrative of the
tragic elements of the
Vietnam War.
Gordon Brule, Jr. was
recruited by the Marines
in July of 1966 a few
years before American
involvement would reach
its all-time high. Shortly
after recruitment he was
sent to train at Parris Island,
North Carolina, followed by
Camp Pendleton, California
where he was being prepared to go to Vietnam. The son of a World War II air force pilot, Brule went into the war believing he was doing his duty
as an American citizen. He was killed three days after arriving in Vietnam by a sniper in Gio Linh shortly after his 19th birthday. In a newspaper
interview after his death Brule’s mother told reporters, “He was always very ‘gung ho’ and he felt that he ought to help win the war.”
He wrote home often during his training, discussing army life and what he planned to do after he returned home. “I bunk next to a couple of guys
from N.Y. City, they tell me about their experiences with L.S.D. and reefers. I just tell them that they’re crazy and that booze is good enough for
me.” It took almost a year before he would get to Vietnam. Brule discusses the journey from California to Okinawa spent on ships with “1800
other Marines and 500 squids…We slept on the floor of the third deck hold because there wasn’t enough room for racks for us.” He would only
write one letter home from his camp in Vietnam calling the place a “dump” and complaining about the rainy season. “What can you expect in
war?” On September 24, 1967 Gordon Brule, Jr. was shot and killed in action.
Contained within this archive are Marine forms including, “Personal Effects Inventory,” which lists among his belongings, “1 pair shoe laces, 1
spoon, 1 cross”; a “Claim certification and voucher for death gratuity payment”; and a “Certificate of Honorable Service.” Also included are six
prayer cards from his funeral service as well as more than a dozen newspaper clippings and duplicates from local papers reporting his death.
In his last letter home he jokingly told his family, “I met a few lovely girls in Okinawa but we will keep that to overseas won’t we?” This account
displays the youthful attitude needed to participate in a controversial war. [BTC #384090]