Kandiyohi County family lost a son to war, but gained a son and brother

Nov. 9—Editor's note: This story has been updated since initial publication to correct the surname of Joyce and Merle Rupp, the surviving aunt and uncle of Waldon Swart who was killed in Vietnam.

NEW LONDON

— It was almost 54 years ago that Richard Hodnett volunteered for a duty that can leave even the most combat-hardened veteran with weak knees.

Hodnett, a California native, was stationed at

Fort Riley

in Kansas after having returned from service in the Vietnam War. He took on the duty of serving as a military escort to return the body of a young man killed in Vietnam to his family in

Kandiyohi County

, Minnesota.

It required delivering the body to the grief-stricken parents and other family members, and experiencing and knowing their pain as his own.

"I wanted to make sure the boys that died for our country got the honor I felt they deserved," Hodnett said when asked why he volunteered for a duty like this.

All of these years later, he is still making sure that Waldon Jerome Swart, of New London, who died Jan. 3, 1969, at age 20, is honored for his service.

He never neglects to send a birthday card to Joyce and Merle Rupp, the surviving aunt and uncle of Waldon Swart, to celebrate Waldon Swart's Oct. 30 birth date.

Every card to their rural home in Lake Andrew Township comes with $100 and the request that the funds be used to help those in need at Thanksgiving time. Joyce and Merle match the money.

Through most of these years, they have turned over the task of providing the help to their pastor at

First Lutheran Church of Norway Lake

.

The cards from Hodnett also come with a new message each year, like this one: "There's never enough time to celebrate all the beauty that surrounds us. That is why God sets aside one day each year just to celebrate you. Love, Richard and family."

As for that difficult duty of delivering the body of Waldon Swart to grieving family members, Hodnett now views it like this: "Sometimes the worst of things turns out to be the best of things."

Ever since he arrived in Minnesota in that snow-filled January of 1969, he has become a part of the Swart family. In between those annual birthday cards, Richard Hodnett and Joyce and Merle Rupp exchange letters, Christmas cards and chat over the phone. They catch up on family news and, of course, talk about the weather.

One year, Joyce and Merle made a trip to Orangevale, California, to visit Hodnett and his family.

Joyce and Merle hosted Hodnett in their New London home when he arrived in 1969 as a military escort. "Richard enjoyed the kids," said Merle of how Hodnett, who was either 22 or 23 at the time, got along with what he called "the little squirts," their two young daughters and son.

"He was always so thankful for everything we did for him. He was just a super guy," Merle said.

No one is quite sure when this long-distance relationship started up, but Joyce believes it probably started with a Christmas card from Hodnett in the year that followed Waldon's funeral.

Hodnett, now 80, served for three years in the military and left at the rank of Staff Sergeant E6. He returned to California and worked as a plumber and pipefitter and later as a building inspector for Sacramento County. He has been married for 40 years and he and his wife have raised two children.

Specialist 4 Waldon Swart was drafted into the military after he graduated from

New London-Spicer High School

. He was working for New London Concrete Products and a neighboring farmer when the call to service came.

"He was just a farm boy. A common, ordinary farm boy who was super friendly and a hard worker," said Joyce of her deceased nephew.

Swart had served in the Army in Vietnam for only a few months before his death. His death was very rough for his parents, Marion and Willie Swart, according to Joyce and Merle. Willie died in 1986, and Marion in 2016.

Joyce and Merle still have the air mail envelopes and letters that their nephew sent them from Vietnam. The letters included thank-yous for the home-baked cookies they sent to him. One of his last letters contained news that he was heading to a location in harm's way.

Swart, 20, was among 15 Americans and two Vietnamese killed on Jan. 3, 1969, when a booby-trap bomb exploded as they lined up in the Cu Chi mess hall. Several pounds of explosives hidden by a Viet Cong saboteur erupted when the first soldier in line withdrew a tray from a food tray rack. Accounts of the incident report that three females who worked at the Cu Chi Base Camp worked for the Viet Cong.

Hodnett said he served as an escort for the bodies of three servicemen killed in Vietnam. Two were from Iowa. He maintained contact with their families as well, but they are now deceased.

Joyce pointed out that the military escorts at that time had a far more difficult duty than many might realize. In some cases, they also received the anger of those hurt by the loss of their loved ones.

Hodnett said he experienced just the opposite in Kandiyohi County.

"How can you not like nice people," he said of the bonding that instantly occurred. "It's hard to put into words. Very nice people. They welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like one of the family."

He said he believes it's because they knew he cared. "I felt what they felt. The sadness they felt. I felt their loss," said Hodnett.

He said they told him: "We lost a son and a brother, but guess what? We gained you."

The support of family, neighbors and their church family all helped the Swart family handle the loss of their loved one, said Joyce. She said the family is still comforted today in knowing that, all these years later, Waldon Swart is remembered, and not just by their adopted family member.

Waldon Swart is buried in the First Lutheran Church of Norway Lake Cemetery

. There are times that family members visit the grave site and find mementos left at their loved one's monument.

They have found the coins left by veterans who had some relationship to him. Joyce found a photo of her deceased nephew at the grave site. Someone left a Rice Krispie bar in a package. She believes it was probably because it was a snack that Waldon enjoyed.

More publicly, Waldon Swart was remembered during the football season when the

New London-Spicer Wildcats

made a point of remembering all of the community's veterans who gave their lives.

For Hodnett, this is how it should be for the serviceman whose body he escorted home. "I never want him forgotten," he said.