From Jocelyn Kline

Monroe

To the editor:

Through out our lives we meet people that stand out in a special way. For me one of those people was Junior Robertson.

Junior and I grew up in the same neighborhood so to Junior that meant we were ‘neighborhood buddies.’ It was a forever thing for Junior not missing a chance to reconnect whenever we crossed paths, which wasn’t all that often, but whenever we did it was ‘old home week’. Junior never met a stranger. This was part of his effervescent personality.

My brother Jim, also served in the Viet Nam conflict and in 2005 passed away do in large part to the effects of the chemical agent orange. Junior was there for me and my sister, knowing how hard it was to lose our brother.

When I would see Junior, he always asked about sister Janis. The conversation then turned into a trip down memory lane, recalling our neighborhood escapades riding our sleds down 9th Avenue in the winter with all the neighbor kids, having a ball, wondering if our moms ever knew what we were doing. You’re going back a few years now, he would always say. It was excellent fun.

Junior and my sister were classmates, so in 2017, after an extended illness, she passed away. Junior was once again there for me. It meant so much to me that he would remember my siblings and speak to me of them when we would see each other.

Monroe has lost a Son. An important Son. A brave and courageous Son. A Son with three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and other distinguished awards that put him in the “Hero” class.

I was privileged to know this man

Bob Dylan writes, “We must stand up right and be strong.” My friend Junior surely did, and then some.

Rest in peace my friend.