A Very Special Rod....
For years, I have always told folks that I am the oldest in my family. My dark little secret is that I have an older half brother. We were not close. Our father was not prime husband material as he loved the ladies and was quite successful with them. When I came along, I was, to my brother, the kid that took Dad away. There was no real animosity between us. We were just not close. He is 6 years my senior. There is a lot more to this story, but we will skip most of it.
Back when I was in Jr. High, Tom enlisted in the Army and went to Vietnam as an interpreter and Lord knows what else. He never knew what a hero he was to me. He still doesn't but I am hoping this rod will help tell him.
My wife went to school with Tom from Jr High on. We were married for several years before the connection was made. Anyway, she called Tom to ask for a copy of his DD214 "for the genealogy". When we got it, I went to work on this rod.
It is a 9', 4pc, 5w built on a Sevier blank in matte black. The reel seat hardware is TiCH Batson BUL5 with a teak burl insert. This is where the symbolism starts. Teak is a very common wood in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. It was chosen for this reason. The butt cap was replaced with an Army Seal hatpin. There had to be some Army Green on the rod, so the grip was turned with extra grade cork and green burl. The Black Pearl Snake Brand guides are wrapped down with black nylon tipped in gold nylon. There are metallic gold liar's marks at 12 and 16 inches.
I had a ton of help from two people. Our own Ron Eagle Elk helped me a lot with the ribbons which you will see later. Nuno Paulino of Fishing the 7even Seas in Portugal was gracious enough to share technique with me on several aspects of this rod. Nuno builds the most magnificent surf and boat rods you will ever lay eyes on. A true master craftsman.
The hat pin was epoxied to the existing butt cap and the resulting gap was covered with rod finish to which a bit of black pigment was added. It came out rather well. Nuno and I swapped many emails coming up with this solution.
The grip and reel seat....
The obligatory shot of the stripper guide...
The rod inscription. I made this decal using Nuno's techniques that he was so kind to share with me. I think it adds a lot to the rod. It has Tom's Name, his Jump Wings and the rod specs on the bottom side. If you look closely behind the name and Jump Wings, you will see an outline map of Vietnam in the background. This decal is only 3" long. Nuno does these 10"+ with flawless finish.
Now for the part that REE helped me with. We traded several PMs over the correct versions and proper order of Tom's decorations. Ron did some background on the decorations for me and guided me towards a site that had them all so I could get the proper colors and designs. The colors may be a shade off here and there but they are as close as I could get with available threads.
In order of precedence... Bronze Star, RVN Gallantry Cross, RVN Civil Actions Honor Medal 2C, Vietnam Service Medal, and Vietnam Campaign Medal
Thank you for listening to my long winded story and looking at my humble tribute to my brother.
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