The world struggles to find peace. Two old guys discovered the answer. Fifty years after they fought in Vietnam, they worked it out. They grew up together and went to the same schools, yet they had never met. They served in the army together, were both shot down in helicopters, and lost some of their best friends in combat, but they had to wait to meet. The answer was not in combat, military training, or book learning. They were tough soldiers who were trained to kill. Ray was a helicopter pilot flying some of the army's most advanced killing machines. Bruce was an airborne ranger who deployed the army's artillery with precision. They did their jobs well. Ray and Bruce needed to find an answer to the world's struggle. They did. See if you agree.
Richardson, Bruce: - Raymond Wilson was born shortly after World War II and grew up in an extended family in a socially segregated part of Salem, New Jersey. As an African-American during the civil rights movement, he found little support to help him obtain his dream of being a pilot. After college with a degree in education, he taught social studies in junior high school. He then pursued his dream of becoming a pilot by joining the United States Army in 1968, with a guarantee of going to flight school. After 22 years of service in the military, Ray retired and continued to fly as an instructor and ferry pilot for Northwest Airlines. He retired again after 15 years and for seven years flew medical evacuation helicopters for hospitals in the greater Minnesota-Wisconsin area. Ray is a mentor in the Ramsey County Veterans Treatment Court, plays trumpet in the Saint Anthony Park community band, and still flies little airplanes. He lives with his wife in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Bruce Richardson grew up in East Providence, Rhode Island and decided to go to West Point when he was five. After graduation in 1967, he was one of the most highly trained soldiers in the US Army as an airborne, ranger, artillery officer. He served with the 82
nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, the 25
th Infantry in Vietnam, and the 4
th Infantry at Fort Carson. He is a Wharton MBA, a former CPA with KPMG, and former CFO with Quadion Corporation. He was elected to the Saint Louis Park, Minnesota school board four times and served for ten years on the Association of Metropolitan School Districts board as chair of the Executive and Legislative committees. Bruce was a facilitator for "Echoes of War" and Veterans Voices discussion groups at the Minnesota Humanities Center, consults on leadership, finance, and strategy for RSI Consulting, and serves on the Board of the Veterans Defense Project. He and his wife live in Saint Louis Park.
