These Vietnam vets still fight together

John Jimenez, left, and Kenneth "Ollie" Olson embrace after being reunited for the first time in 40 years. Both men served in the 101st Airborne during Vietnam and have stayed in touch over the years but have never met face to face. When Olson learned that his old friend had liver cancer, he traveled from Minnesota and surprised Jimenez by showing up at the front door of his Whittier home.
LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

These Vietnam vets still fight together
By TOM BERG
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

WHITTIER – Next year.
It was always "next year" they'd meet.


Every Memorial Day for 41 years, the two Vietnam veterans promised to see each other. But never did. Until a secret slipped out.

Now Ken Olson, 61, of Nelson, Minnesota, has showed up at the door of John Jimenez, 66, of Whittier, pretending to call from half-way across the country.

If you want to see me, Olson ends the call, open the front door!

Soon, the men are joking about how skinny they once were. How young. How handsome.

"We had some bad times but they turned into good times," say Jimenez, a retired forklift driver who grew up in La Habra. "We saw a lot of action. A lot of our friends died in our arms."

Olson, a Midwest farmer who doesn't cry at funerals, cries.

"I'd still follow you anywhere," he says.

Back in 1968, helicopters dropped them together into enemy territory 77 times. They lived in the jungle with leeches, monsoons, malaria. And most days, bloodshed.

As the oldest guy there, Jimenez volunteered to walk point, assuring his company: I'm going to get you out of here.

"I used to tell the guys, 'Don't get scared because when you get scared you lose your head. You're here to take care of me and I'm here to take care of you."

Olson never forgot. That's why he's here.
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These Vietnam vets still fight together