On Saturday, July 26, at 1 p.m., the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Foundation will host a lecture by Patricia Farawell Enyedy, author of A Redcatcher's Letters from Nam: Reflections of Family and Friends at the Vietnam Era Educational Center in Holmdel.

The author's brother, PFC George T. Farawell, was an average 19-year-old from a middle class family in Linden, New Jersey when he was drafted into the U.S. Army and shipped to Vietnam in 1969. The Army gave him an M16 and he was assigned to Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, known as the Redcatchers. He had served only eight weeks of his tour of duty when he fell victim to a land mine.

Patricia Farawell Enyedy, originally of Linden, NJ, writes, "My brother wrote 25 wonderful letters to my mom, dad, husband and myself. I was reading George's letters recently and thought no one else has ever read these wonderful pieces of his heart written during the last days of his life. I wanted to share them with family and his friends." Their reminiscences add to this poignant and brave profile of a soldier.

As a portrait of Farawell emerges from his sister's pages, we realize he is the boy next door, the sweetheart that will never come home, the brother and son that can never be replaced.
Today the author lives in Carolina Shores, N.C.

Lecture attendees are asked to RSVP to (732) 335-0033. A donation of $5 per person is suggested. The Vietnam Era Educational Center is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial off the Garden State Parkway at exit 116. The Memorial and Educational Center are maintained through a partnership between the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Foundation and the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The Educational Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Regular admission is free for veterans and active-duty military personnel. Regular adult admission is $4; student and senior citizen admission is $2; and children under 10 are admitted free.