John Kendrick Hutton

West Point, 1965

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Mary Pelham Hutton White on August 21, 2011:

My brother, Jack, is always close to the surface of my thoughts and memories. He was my hero before he went to war. I expected to share our lives into old age, but he was killed at twenty-four. I have a thirty-eight year old son who looks a lot like Jack. It's easy to look back and realize the impact Jack had on his life even though they never met. He'll be married in a few months and I'll miss having Jack there. I had expected that he'd know and be involved with each of my children. This is a quick note rather than an eloquent eulogy. I want to share with the readers of this note that over the years, several men who served with him in Vietnam become long-term friends who shared information and memories of Jack. I attended the 20th anniversary reunion of Vietnamese and U.S. Advisors in 1995. I was honored to participate in that reunion. It became clear that I needed them and they needed my presence. The love and respect those men had for each other and their accounts of getting out of Vietnam and rebuilding their lives have enriched my life. Many had sponsored Vietnamese counterparts back in the States after they'd made harrowing escapes, been separated from family and later raised happy, successful children. For now, I'll end my note, but I expect to check-in in a few years. If any of you remember Jack, I would be very happy to hear from you. Mary-Pelham Hutton White Virginia Beach, VA

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