A SPECIAL LITTLE KNIFE
BY HARRY PARMER
 
I first met Terry Lee Boyer in 1998 at the old Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Archery Range. Back then I rarely missed a weekend of shooting archery and it was on one of these days when I saw Terry at the range with a few other club members who were getting ready to walk the dry riverbed where numerous targets were located. When Terry and the others saw me pull into the parking lot they waved at me to join them as they started down the path toward the first target. 

As was normal we'd mosey from one target to another – each of us shooting several arrows at the targets while chatting about practically everything. This is when I learned that Terry had served as a USAF officer and had flown F4 Phantoms in Vietnam. Hearing this I "welcomed him home," which is a common but unique greeting we Vietnam veterans say to one another. It originated from our collective experience during the Vietnam War when our country was going through troubled times. Vietnam veterans experienced a very different homecoming than did other veterans from previous wars. Many in America did not welcome us home after we returned from war. Our reception was different – it sometimes included words of anger and disdain by a country that many of us believed had turned its back to us. 

It was indeed a very confusing time. We who fought in Vietnam were proud of our service and we knew by first hand experience that our fight was noble and just. As a result, most of us simply went on with our lives while hoping to see the day when our country would regain its sanity. 

So after our first meeting, Terry and I shot a lot of arrows together and as the months passed our friendship grew. We shared a love for archery, and a common experience from an unpopular war. We were members of the Warrior Band of Brothers where friendships were forged in fire, thus creating a bond so strong it equaled and sometimes surpassed family ties. 

But I soon found out that my experience in Vietnam paled to the experience Terry had endured. You see, Terry's F4 Phantom was shot down over North Vietnam and Terry spent five years in the Hanoi Hilton as a POW. Yes, Terry Boyer was a Vietnam POW and I felt honored to be considered his friend. 

As the weekends passed, Terry and I had numerous talks together while we enjoyed the sport of archery. He was by nature a quiet man, so I would have to lead the conversation as we walked the trails of the range. But his quietness camouflaged his depth of intelligence and character. When he did speak you immediately recognized his passion for life and love for his country. But what really impressed me about Terry was that he was never critical or had anything negative to say about his country, even when others voiced discourse with the way they were treated in the war’s aftermath. His attitude was always positive and forgiving – he loved America and all it stands for. In fact he told me once that if not for his faith in God and his love of America, he would not have survived his ordeal as a POW. 

Hearing this from a man who had endured so much almost came as a surprise to me. For once I saw things in a very different way. He opened my eyes and my heart so I could see within myself the anger and resentment that I lived with for far too many years. Terry’s strength of character was amazing and it continues to influence me to this day.  

On one fall overcast weekend while shooting arrows in the old dry creek bed I shared a story with Terry about another hobby interest of mine in collecting old Case pocketknives. I didn’t have a large collection, but as a young lad growing up in Pennsylvania I owned an old Case pocketknife that I cherished and used for decades. Somewhere along my life travels I lost that old knife, but my memories of it remains. When Terry heard my story I watched him listen quietly and smile. 

Several months passed before I saw Terry again. He lived in Avila Beach, a considerable distance from the archery range, and would only come south to Orange County to visit his elderly mother. 

I was happy to see Terry one Sunday morning after a long absence. We greeted each other and immediately started catching up on our respective news and stories. This is when I learned that Terry was losing his eyesight. He had been diagnosed with macular degeneration, a medical condition predominantly found in the elderly that can result in loss of central vision, which entails inability to see fine details, to read, or to recognize faces. 

This was not good news to me, but Terry's attitude was pure Terry. He accepted his lot in life and had a positive outlook that he would make the best of it. This is also when he told me he was moving from California to Arizona and that this would likely be his last visit to the El Toro Archery Range. 

Then he reached into his trousers pocket and handed me this little Case pocketknife. He said it belonged to his father who had long passed away. Terry said he wanted me to have it because he knew I would show the care and respect for it that his father would appreciate. 

At first I was speechless. This little pocketknife suddenly took on a significance way beyond its normal use or utility. This little knife became a very special gift from a very special friend. 

That day was the last day I saw Terry Boyer. Our paths never crossed again. I will always remember him and our friendship. He was one of the very special people that I had the honor to call friend in my lifetime and this little pocketknife serves as symbol of respect and love between two members of a magnificent Band of Brothers. ‘We few, we very few, Band of Brothers.”


Epilogue.
 
BOYER, TERRY LEE 

Name: Terry Lee Boyer 
Rank/Branch: O2/United States Air Force 
Unit: 497th TFS 
Date of Birth: 22 September 1938 
Home City of Record: Visalia CA 
Date of Loss: 17 December 1967 
Country of Loss: North Vietnam 
Loss Coordinates: 211700 North 1051500 East 
Status (in 1973): Returnee 
Category: 
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D 
Missions: 40 
Other Personnel in Incident: Kenneth Fleenor, returnee 

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. 

REMARKS: 730314 RELEASED BY DRV 

SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977
 
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602. Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and spelling errors). UPDATE - 09/95 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO 

TERRY LEE BOYER 
Captain- United States Air Force 
Shot Down: December 17, 1967 
Released: March 14, 1973 

Captain Boyer was born in Los Angeles and moved with his family to Visalia where he attended schools through high school. Following a four-year tour of duty in the U.S. Submarine Services, Captain Boyer attended the College of the Sequoias and Fresno State College where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration. In 1965 he entered the Air Force, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and proceeded to pilot training in both Arizona and California. In October of 1967 he was assigned to fly F-4 combat missions in Viet Nam. Captain Boyer was shot down and captured in December 1967. 

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, the American people, for what you have been to me during my imprisonment: a source of courage. The love, honor, and gifts you have bestowed upon me since my return have meant a good deal to me. I have yet to determine in my own mind what I have done that is deserving of this consideration. 

"For some reason, you people insist on calling me a hero. I would like to say that I am not the hero- you, the American people, are the heroes. You have made the United States what it is, and I thank you for it. 

"I have made this statement time and again during my speaking engagements and I would like to make it again to you now. 

"We were not a handpicked group of Americans sent to prison cells in Hanoi. No, we were just average American citizens like you and your neighbors. But, by the grace of God, you could have been sitting in that prison cell instead of me. I know that had you been there, you would have felt and acted as we did. We did not want to conduct ourselves in any manner that would be unworthy of the love and respect you have always bestowed upon us, your military men. 

"It is this love and respect that makes Americans the wonderful people they are. It is this love and respect that has enabled the American people to build the greatest nation in the world. 

"I was indeed very fortunate to have been able to serve and represent a nation of people such as you, my beloved Americans. My heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of you. May I never conduct myself in a manner that would reflect in discredit upon the American people." 

November 1996: Terry Boyer retired from the United States Air Force as a Lt. Colonel. He and his wife Vicki reside in California.






Major Harry P. Parmer, United States Marine Corps (Retired), served in Vietnam in 1966-67, with Charlie Company, 9th Engineer Battalion, First Marine Division. In 1968 he completed his enlistment as a Sergeant to pursue his baccalaureate degree. In 1974 he graduated from California State University at Los Angeles and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm he served with Marine Air Control Group-38, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1991. 


A GATHERING OF EAGLES