Alpha Troop, Vietnam Vet, Kenny Euge waits for honor in face of eviction

The battles never end: Dupo man has fought post-traumatic stress disorder for almost 40 years
BY MIKE FITZGERALD - News-Democrat

Last month, just a few days apart, two letters arrived in Kenny Euge's mailbox in rural St. Clair County near Dupo.

Each letter, in its own way, rocked Euge's world.

The first letter came from the county zoning office. The second letter came from a Texas multimillionaire. It contained a message about an event half a world away that has haunted Euge for nearly four decades.

The zoning office letter announced county plans to evict Euge in 30 days from his home -- a bright red railroad caboose -- because his property had become the subject of complaints.

The letter represented the latest battle in Euge's long-running war with the county over his property -- an enclave carved out among southern St. Clair County's rolling hills, the boundaries of which are staked out by Euge's twin obsessions: vehicles and the sculpture art he's created out of the stuff of landfills and junkyards.

The second letter came from an entirely unexpected source -- John Poindexter, a Houston industrialist. As a young captain in 1970, Poindexter was Alpha Troop's hard-charging commander.

The Poindexter letter informed Euge that he and other Alpha Troop members had been selected to receive the Presidential Unit Citation, a rare honor bestowed on military units that have shown extraordinary courage and determination under the most deadly conditions.

The citation recognizes Alpha Troop's actions during a battle that unfolded on March 25-26, 1970.
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