Morning all well I haven’t been on here or practiced my banjo for a little over a month. as a few of you know I am retired from the US military I served 4 years in the US Army and 16 years in the US Navy. As a US Army infantryman as a member for the Berlin Brigade in west Berlin Germany from 1974 to 1978 the wall was still standing and the USSR and the east German communist were still operating. I was 19 years old and ended up with two close friends: Tom and Cliff. we lost Tom a number of years ago to lung cancer. A little over a month ago Cliff called me, and told me he had both prostate cancer and bone cancer, and he told me he was scared and wanted me to fly out to be with him. I have little money but his family payed to fly me out and a room. I was able to be with my old friend for a week and was able to contact another army buddy and he joined me on my last full day there. Cliff was in so much pain and was on big time drugs but he forced himself to interact with me the whole week. I had to fly out on a Easter Sunday Cliff’s wife let me know as of Saturday night, my last day with Cliff he became unresponsive and un able to eat I lost my friend that Tuesday morning. Tom, Cliff and I did a lot of growing up together and so mean memories I can’t count, and a number I can’t tell you about. I am so happy my buddies are out of pain but I miss them more then I can tell you. This morning is the first practice and I enjoyed it. to all out there if you have an old friend from your youth call them go see them if you can as a man getting older I find I am loosing old friends and it is very hard to think I didn’t take the time to call send a letter or anything. God Bless you all and thanks for letting an old man get all this off my mind.
Old Friends
Very sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. It is great that you were able to go see him and be with him like you did. Thoughts & prayers are with you and his family 
I’m sorry for you loss @sailor. You sound like a really good friend. Thank you for your service, I was just a kid in the 70’s but still remember how stressful that time was in the world.
Thanks for sharing this Sailor! It really hits home with me personally. I left Germany in’85 just before the wall came down. I still miss Germany and would love to go back someday.
The friends you make in the military are friends for LIFE. I can even still see my Drill Sargent’s face and hear his voice as if it were yesterday!
Even though we don’t keep contact as much as we should, believe me, friends like this still know how we feel toward one another… even if it goes unsaid. If you still think of them, they still think of you too… It goes both ways! But yes, you’re right… It is good to keep in contact. Just don’t beat yourself up over it. I think going out there and being with him is extraordinary and shows how much of a friend you really are!
I do still keep in contact with my closest Army buddy from Germany… He was a medic and is back home in Farmington, New Mexico. I’m in Ohio and we haven’t seen each other since '85 when I left Germany before he did. We have absolutely nothing in common other than our faith in God and being in the Army in Germany. We speak a couple times a year and it’s like we see each other every day still.
Thanks again for the post and I’ll be praying for you!
It was a great thing you did!!! Thank you for your service!
I feel your pain @Sailor Lost several of my close army buddies over the past 12 years. It’s never easy to say goodbye to old comrades. Lest we forget. 
I’m sorry for your loss and thank you for the wise words about friendship. Thank you for your military service as well. You gave your friend a great gift by being with him in his last days. There’s no greater love than this. I’ll keep you in my prayers.
Becky
Glad you had the time & the place to get this off your mind. As were age, the road of life gets a bit bumpier.
Through hard times, grief and the melancholy of age, sometimes we forget to pay attention.
The Angel of Condolence is much closer than you think.
Thank you for your kind words
@Sailor, you’re a good friend and I know he was so thankful for you, and his family is thankful for you, too. That was a tough but awesome act of love.
Thanks to all of you I am Blessed to have had Tom and Cliff as friends and growing with them. I am also Blessed to have found this group and all the support all of you give so much more then music. God Bless all of you and thank you.