Eighty-two-year-old
Mary Ambrosini of
Lockport remembers
her son John
"Jack"
Ambrosini, who was
killed in the
Vietnam War.
"I know some
parents who are
quiet about
it," she said
"I feel if
there is anything
to give honor to
my family, I'll do
it."
A son lost to war
The day drew near: two
weeks until Jack Ambrosini's homecoming from Vietnam. Back home in Lockport,
his mother, Mary, still worried about him. Then the messenger came. about him. Then the
messenger came.
By Guy Tridgell
STAFF WRITER Mary
Ambrosini watched the same episode 20 years before, when a soldier carrying
a telegram walked up to her mother's house while World War II raged on the
other side of the globe.
The
message delivered that day told Mary Ambrosini her youngest brother was
killed in Japan.
But
this latest situation was different. This involved her son.
On a winter day in 1968, another uniformed serviceman approached
the Ambrosini family farmhouse in Lockport. Again, the news was not
pleasant: The only son of John and Mary Ambrosini wouldn't be coming
home alive, either.
"I thought maybe God would spare me," said
Mary Ambrosini. "He didn't."
John S.
Ambrosini, called "Jack" by his
family, was plucked by the U.S. Army almost directly from the Class of
1965 graduation at Lockport Central High School. Less than two years
later, he was in Vietnam as a supply specialist.
A prototype Midwestern kid, Jack grew up on the
sprawling Ambrosini farm in Lockport. He was a 4-H member, owned a horse
and hoped to turn his love of farming into a life's passion.
He never got the chance. Like Jack, a lot of healthy young
men from his generation who weren't in college found themselves one Vietnam
casualty away from basic training and a trip overseas.
"He felt it was something he had to do. There were others
who left," his mother said. "It hurt, but...
It
hurt,
but
there
was
no
choice.
You
had
to
go."
Jack
was
a
member
of a
security
force
at
the
summit
of
Ke
Sien
mountain
protecting
the
city
of
Qui
Nhon.
He
was
sleeping
in
his
tent
when
an
enemy
satchel
charge
was
thrown
next
to
him.
He
died
instantly,
one
of
eight
fatalities
during
a
night
attack
by
the
enemy.
Mary
Ambrosini
chooses
not
to
dwell
on
those
details.
"He
was
always
the
kind
of
kid
who
would
come
in
and
kiss
me.
He
was
a
very
loving
kid.
A
mother
just
melts
when
that
happens,"
she
said.
"I
don't
picture
him
dead."
'Won't
be
long'
Something
is
wrong
anytime
a
young
man
is
taken
in
the
spring
of
his
life.
Jack
Ambrosini's
death
was
especially
cruel
because
"Ambro,"
as
his
buddies
called
him,
was
to
return
home
two
weeks
later.
He
would
remind
her
in
the
letters
and
audio
tapes
sent
home.
"No
new
news,"
he
wrote
in
his
last
letter,
written
on a
light
blue
stationery
featuring
a
silhouette
of
Vietnam.
"Just
the
same
old
day-in,
day-out
thing.
...
It
won't
be
long
now.
I
have
only
about
14
days
left
here."
Most
of
his
letters
conveyed
an
easygoing
calm,
like
he
wasn't
in
danger.
His
mother
knew
he
wasn't
telling
the
truth.
"Jackie
was
never
one
to
tell
me
something
that
would
hurt
me,"
she
said.
"He
would
keep
something
quiet
if
he
knew
it
would
hurt
me."
Love
and
honor
Today
Mary
Ambrosini,
82,
lives
in
the
same
house
where
she
raised
her
family,
which
besides
Jack,
included
a
daughter.
Her
husband
died
in
1986.
She
has
never
shied
from
talking
about
her
son.
For
years
after
his
death,
she
regularly
kept
contact
with
some
of
the
soldiers
he
served
with.
"There
were
a
lot
of
times
I
thought:
'What
did
he
die
for?
What
did
he
do?'"
she
said.
"But
as a
mother,
I am
always
proud
talking
about
my
kids.
I
loved
him."
The
forthright
attitude
extends
to
the
occasional
public
appearance.
When
a
traveling
replica
of
the
Vietnam
War
memorial
stopped
in
Bolingbrook
six
years
ago,
Mary
Ambrosini
was
there
for
a
candlelight
vigil.
She
also
is
included
in
the
Memorial
Day
parade
that
goes
through
Lockport
each
year.
Ambrosini's
motives
are
selfless.
"I
know
some
parents
who
are
quiet
about
it,"
she
said.
"I
feel
if
there
is
anything
to
give
honor
to
my
family,
I'll
do
it.
END
The
mother in the above story is still living, but many other mothers of
Vietnam
Veterans
have
already
passed
away.
How many more
mothers will we let pass away still believing that America
never appreciated their sacrifices?
|
