The journey of searching, uncertainty, pain and deciding how to deal with new information and honor her uncle was nothing like she’d envisioned.
“One of the things I took away from this was there were more casualties than the ones who passed away — relatives, siblings never got over the loss, trauma of loss. The people who came back were still casualties,” Johnson-Oliss said.
After years of wondering, she approached a neighbor with a military background on the anniversary of Tom Schwab’s death Nov. 22, 1968, about the best way to find out more.
“I always had a curiosity about my uncle’s death… There were pictures and flags in my grandmother’s living room. Nothing was discussed,” Johnson-Oliss said.
The neighbor told her about veterans’ message boards, and put out a request for information.
Within a short period, two men responded.
Not only did they know Tom, they were in his unit, and with him the day of the incident.
It was a day the unit lost three men.
One could not talk about what happened to her 21 year-old uncle.
The oldest in the unit was 26 and called “Pops.” Johnson-Oliss had a long phone conversation with him. “He said Tom was a great guy, a good soldier,” she said.
Pops recalled the unit was in the wet, miserable jungle 24/7. “He said Tom never complained, and neither did anyone else. He said he was such a good soldier,” she said.
Both men had photos of the unit, and graciously agreed to send them.
When she opened a color photo of the soldiers just hanging out, Johnson-Oliss found “Tom looked like me … I didn’t have the words … I was grateful, surprised, stunned.”
The men said her uncle had a “soft spot for children.” She has taught children with special needs. “I feel connected to somebody I never even met,” Johnson-Oliss said.
Pops had found Tom’s name on the Vietnam Wall and paid tribute.
Another man later reached out and asked to talk with Johnson-Oliss. “He said he had waited years to talk. He wanted to find Tom’s family,” she said.
During her search for more information, Johnson-Oliss found her grandmother, the mother of six including Tom, was at one time president of Gold Star Mothers in Cincinnati. Her son lost to war received a Purple Heart and a Silver Star.
The creation of a veteran’s memorial and park in Tipp City provide Johnson-Oliss and husband, Chris, with the opportunity to pay tribute to the service of her uncle and her husband’s father.
As she searched for information and talked with others, she was speechless at times, Johnson-Oliss said.
She would encourage others with questions about those lost in war to make inquiries and research. She also urges people to support war memorials “not just for the people who died but for the people who lived through it all,” Johnson-Oliss said.
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