A Trophy For Arvie
by Robert Chapin
They were the best of friends in 1959. Entered into a marathon consisting of three revolutions around the town common.Preston and Arvie agreed to end on the same foot - Preston stumbled to the ground and Arvie the victor returned to assist his friend.His demonstration of unselfishness was that of a true human being.Arvie died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam in 1969.Preston Cunningham and Arvie were the best of friends. Raised in the quaint New England Town of West Brookfield, Massachusetts, an hours drive from the world famous Tanglewood, the summer home of The Boston Pops Orchestra in the heart of The Berkshires.In a scheduled marathon, they were entered into the appropriate age category and trained for the race. Mr. Silverberg was their scoutmaster, and it was he who instilled the basic values in Preston's life.Life changed for the two young men when Preston was drafted into the Army in 1966, and Arvie entered helicopter flight school at Fort Rucker Alabama.With the possibility of serving two years in Vietnam, Preston opted for the Army's new four year program and within three months was assigned to one of the most prestigious military intelligence units in Europe.Following 16 months of living in a civilian status position in Frankfurt. The benefit of civilian clothes, an apartment in the center of the city and a chauffer, the Army in disregard of Preston's contract pulled him out of Germany and sent him to Vietnam.At about the same time, Arvie was assigned as a new young pilot to a medical unit in Vietnam. In January of 1969, Arvie was killed in a horrific air crash. Years later, at the dedication of The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C., it was by chance that Preston was searching for the names of his fallen comrades when he came upon Arvie's name on The Wall.Angered by the events of the war, ahd now as a civilian and able to put into words what he was prohibited from doing when he was a soldier, Preston wrote a poster poem about the pain and anger he suffered with the loss of his dear friend Arvid Silverberg.The poster poem was presentedto President Ronald Reagan and in a surprise move displayed it in the White House, and from that moment on The Wall - The Poem became a national best seller.UP UNTIL THIS TIME THE STORY IS TRUE BUT HERE ON IT IS FICTIONPreston Cunningham becomes the first Vietnam Veteran President of The United States, and returns to The Wall upon taking the oath of office and searches for Arvie's name...This book is free and it is the desire of this author that you will read the other books abailable in this series. Thank you!