Gaspe' Quebec / Canadian Connection

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Eldon Tozer’s niece, Sandra Thompson, sent this “Letter to the Editor” to the The Gaspe’ Spec, and I thought that it would be of interest to those have read the book or who knew Eldon Tozer during his life.   The letter was published on March 5, 2014.   The newspaper’s office is located in New Carlisle, Quebec.

Letter to the Editor:

My uncle Eldon Tozer of Cullen’s Brook served in the U.S. Navy from 1956 until November 1969. On November 20^th, 1969 he was killed while serving on a River Patrol Boat in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.  A funeral service was held in Bonaventure with internment in the Riverside Cemetery in Cullen’s Brook.

Four years ago, Rolland Kidder from Ashville, New York USA contacted my mother Frances Tozer.  He told her that he would like to make a trip to Cullen’s Brook to visit Eldon’s grave and to interview her.

He wanted to write a book about his trip back to Vietnam—and about Eldon and two other men who lost their lives in Vietnam.  He also interviewed two of Eldon’s daughters who live in Michigan.  It was a very emotional time for everyone.

The book—“Backtracking in Brown Water,”  by Rolland E. Kidder is available in hardcover and paperback editions at Amazon.com.  Mr. Kidder journeyed back to the rivers and canals of South Vietnam.  He recounts life aboard Patrol Boats in the heart of the Mekong Delta and interviewed the families of three of his friends lost in the fighting back in 1969.

Mr. Kidder was appointed to the American Battle Monuments Commission by both President Bill Clinton and President Obama, and was a member of the original World War II Memorial Site and Design Committee.

Mr. Kidder is a Navy Vietnam War Veteran who served as a Patrol Boat Officer with River Division 535 in 1969-70. 

We feel very honoured to have Mr. Kidder visit our area and include our loved one in his book.  Eldon’s memory will live on.

A blog was created about the book.  It can be found on the internet at: http://rollandkidder.blogspot.com.”

Sandra Thompson

Flatlands, New Brunswick