John Bradley Broussard
Oct 19, 1949 - May 3, 2000
John Broussard in base camp on standown, probably April 1970, An Khe.
Photo courtesy of James Henderson
John Broussard in April 1970 on LZ
Niagara, in our bunker.
He's holding up his most prized possession, from his Care Package
from The World ---- Shoe String Potatoes!!
Photo courtesy of James Henderson
I really dont know where to start talking about
John Broussard. He was definitely one of a kind and a very good
friend.
I first made Johns acquaintance in Jan-Feb 1970 when he
joined B Co 1-22. He was assigned to Sgt Buenzles squad,
which was the squad I was also in. I already had a couple of
months in country, so I was the old timer and he the FNG.
John possessed the most irrepressible personality
that I think Ive ever encountered. You simply could not
keep the man down.
No matter how bleak or desperate the situation, John immediately
seized on the humor or the irony in it.
Nothing seemed to bother him. His infectious grin and his ability
to laugh in the face of adversity were beacons in the night.
John was very proud of his Louisiana birth right
and his Cajun heritage. He reveled in being called Coon Ass,
or often we called him John Henry. I actually thought Henry to be
his real middle name until I, sadly, found his name
on the Social Security Death Index, and saw his middle initial as
B. I guess he liked the southern, or Cajun, sound of John
Henry.
It does have a nice ring to it.
John never shirked a duty nor dodged a task. If
it was his time to pull guard, you could bet hed pull his
shift.
He never failed to amaze us at the massive ruck sacks he humped,
which Im sure on many an occasion, if not always,
out weighed him. He was a man you could count on at all times,
whether pulling that guard duty in the wee hours of the morning
or when engaged in a firefight, or simply keeping the slack out
when humping that massive ruck up another of the endless
mountains
in the Central Highlands. If it was his turn to hump squad
extras, such as the shovel, hump it he did.
And dig with it when we stopped.
John was a good man, a good soldier, and a good
friend. I truly regret that I never made contact with him after
Vietnam.
By the time I started looking, it was too late. My loss.
Ill never forget him. Rest in peace John.
James Henderson --- Jan,2004
John Broussard on the left, and James Henderson on
the right, April 1970 stand down in An Khe.
Note the bandage on John's arm. He had a really bad case of
jungle rot. He was glad, he thought it funny,
he hoped it would keep him out of the field.
Of course, it didn't. But, that was OK too.
No problem GI.
Photo courtesy of James Henderson
BURIAL :
Saint Anne Cemetery
Youngsville, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
Grave plaque for John B. Broussard
Photo by Nathan Guillory from the Find A Grave website
Grave marker for John B. Broussard
Photo by Nathan Guillory from the Find A Grave website
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