Retired veteran was 'a soldier's soldier' and 'true hero from Vietnam era'

Editor:

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The obituaries in The Augusta Chronicle on April 1 showed an old and dear friend of mine who died on March 30. Ronald Lee Hoffman was my roommate in Korea, during 1974 and 1975. I was fortunate enough to work with him again after he retired from the Army and worked as a civilian at Fort Gordon.

Ron was a true hero from the Vietnam era. He was a "tunnel rat," and his rationale for doing it was, "it's a dirty job, somebody's gotta do it, so why not me?" Ron had been cut down by a couple of rounds from an AK-47, and was sent home to recuperate. The wounds left holes in his back that were evidence of excruciating pain and a brush with death that brought him close to having his name engraved on "The Wall" in Washington D.C.

Ron rarely talked about his job in Vietnam, but those of us who were there mostly don't! One thing I can say about Ron: Whenever there was any job to do, he performed at maximum flow and accomplished everything he set out to do. I haven't mentioned this yet, but Ron was a Green Beret, and those of you who know those guys know that they are the Army's top guns, the best of the best. That's as good a description of Ron as I could make.

Ron actually worked for me in Korea, but I always considered it as if we were working together. Ron was a good man, a great husband to Doris and a great father to their family, and above all a soldier's soldier! Hooah, Ron! Godspeed, my friend!

Jim McKenzie, Evans