Vietnam veterans meet again after decades

The voice of Roy Tipton - someone he hadn't seen in over 40 years, someone he had become friends with while they both served in Vietnam in the late 1960s - said he was in Britt.

And he wanted to know how to get to Schlichting's house.

"I said I was sitting by Kum & Go in a church parking lot," Tipton, 62, said. "There was a long pause, and I thought, ‘Holy cow - he passed out.' "

Several minutes later, the two men who spent a year as soldiers with the 54th Transportation Battalion - part of 523rd Transportation Company - in Vietnam, saw each other for the first time in 42 years when Tipton and his motorhome pulled into Schlichting's driveway.

Tipton and his wife decided to make a trip to Britt to see Schlichting and his wife, Kay, after visiting another friend in Indiana.

"I didn't know he was coming ‘till he was here," Schlichting, 62, of Britt, said. "He don't look any different than he did then, just a little older.

"Me?" Schlichting said, laughing as he removed his hat to reveal his balding head. "I've changed drastically."

Schlichting and Tipton met in 1968 while they were stationed at the same base in Vietnam. Schlichting was repairing his camera when Tipton came to him and told him he needed a better camera, offering to go with him to purchase one.

Tipton and Schlichting said they got along from the very beginning.

"We were dirt poor - we both came from the same background, just 1,000 miles apart," Tipton said.

"We were like twins ... " Tipton said.

"Only different," Schlichting finished with a laugh. "We were both honest people, though, and that's how you learn who's good or bad."

Although Tipton was a typist and Schlichting a truck driver, the pair saw each other every day on base. They recalled memories of their day-to-day life overseas.

"We sat around and talked about all the stuff 18 and 19-year-old kids talked about," Schlichting said. "We would chat about old times and talk about tomorrow."

Tipton recalled working "24 hours a day," but finding time to relax on the "patio" between the barracks while fellow soldiers enjoyed old-fashioned barbecues.

"Fate put us together over there when we were drafted," Tipton said. "But we were young - we were like a big family over there."

Schlichting returned to the states in October 1960. Tipton followed in December and now resides in Georgia.

Decades passed until three years ago, Schlichting decided to find Tipton. He turned to the Internet for help.

Although he had difficulty finding Tipton, Schlichting found luck after a phone number search pointed him in the right direction.

"There was a long list, but one name had a military rank (in front of it)," Schlicting said. "I called and it was him."

Tipton said he knew who it was the moment he heard Schlichting's voice.

"There was a bond there that never goes away," Tipton said. "You never forget that."

Prior to last week's visit, Schlichting and Tipton only spoke over the phone a few times.

"You don't forget," Schlichting said. "Even though it was 42 years ago, we remembered it just like it was yesterday."

Megan VerHelset is editor of the Forest City Summit, a Lee Enterprises newspaper.