Coldwater brothers in arms among the honored Saturday

COLDWATER — “Brothers in arms,” referring to serving in the military together, usually doesn’t refer to actual family.

But the phrase does for the Nowicki brothers, who shared their stories at the seventh annual Coldwater Elks Lodge #1023 Veteran picnic Saturday at the Branch County Fairgrounds.

Tom Nowicki, 75, volunteered for the Army in 1968. With the Vietnam war draft coming in 1969, “I knew I was going to have to go in. So, I figured I wanted to serve it with my brother,” he said. Phil Nowicki, a year old, was already in the Army in Vietnam.

Tom enlisted and asked for Vietnam duty.

“I told no one, not the family, not my brother," he said.

Color blindness kept him from serving in an armor unit, his first choice. Too short for military police, the Army trained Tom as a medic. 

“We had eight doctors and 25 medics. I started on the ground floor and ended up being the head medic," Tom said of serving in a MASH unit.

The pay was $91 monthly, plus $5 extra for war duty.

After five days in Vietnam with no help from the military, the Red Cross located Phil for Tom.

Tom was able to get assigned to the same base in the central highlands where Phil was a mechanic. “He worked on my ambulance,” Tom said.

The brothers are close. At ages 7 and 8, the family had troubles. Phil and Tom spent three years together in two orphanages before going home.

Phil said the first day Tom was “in country" a rocket exploded outside his barracks, shattering glass into his eyes.

Phil thought Tom was crazy to follow him to Vietnam.

“I think probably so, but it’s good to know I had a medic that could pick up the pieces as they fell off,” he joked. 

Tom spent his days putting sutures and IVs into wounded soldiers flown into his MASH unit.

Phil served two tours in Vietnam. One tour was enough for Tom. He took an early out so he wouldn’t have to do stateside desk duty.

Both brothers brought something back from Vietnam: PTSD. Tom jumps at loud noises and when approached from behind. 

“Was it worth it? I suppose so,” Tom said. “The VA gives me great benefits.”

And with the help of the Branch County Veterans Services, he found counseling.

Phil is a photographer and writer.

Tom spent 37 years delivering mail in Coldwater, friendly and popular on his routes.

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The Coldwater Elks honors those who served in the military on the second Saturday in July, with community donations providing a barbecue lunch. Several dozen vets came with spouses and family, sharing their stories at the fairgrounds.

---Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Elks salute local veterans