With the 106th Veterans Day upon us, it brings back memories of just how meaningful the bond between fellow warriors can be. The closeness of that bond was demonstrated over a quarter century ago, only hours into the new millennium, in an incident that shook me to the core.

It was that day, on January 2, 2000, my father—Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.—passed away. He had spent the last weeks of his life hospitalized—a victim of a rare and aggressive cancer linked to his exposure to asbestos (mesothelioma). Later that day, I would come to understand the incredible bond that had been nurtured between him and his South Vietnamese “brother” and counterpart—the two having fought a war together more than three decades earlier.

In 1968, promoted to vice admiral, my father had taken command of all U.S. naval forces in Vietnam. His South Vietnamese counterpart was Commodore Tran Van Chon. At 47, both men were the same age.

Despite an alliance that had the two countries seeking a mutual goal, many American military advisors found it difficult, from a cultural standpoint, to develop an effective, cooperative relationship with their South Vietnamese counterparts. This problem did not exist for Chon and my father–the latter treating the former as an equal and always consulting him on operational decisions. It resulted in the blossoming of a very close bond.

Those privy to this........

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