Cannon King, Comrade, Friend & More
Lehigh Valley Express
FloridaToday.com News Report
Testimonials, Remembrances, Memorials
Norm always said to me at every reunion that if he and I served together in Vietnam, we would still be in a military prison. I have no doubt he is right. Norm made our reunions an enormous amount of fun pranking us with that fake free beer thing 2 years in a row.
This guy was so much more than our merry prankster. He had a distinguished career in a very tough field. He led a State Attorney team in a discipline where you simply cannot make mistakes. He motivated a team in an environment where everyday is not bright and shiny. And he had to please his constituents…….all of whom were entitled to look over his shoulder. During his tenure, he was selected the Disabled American Veteran of the Year and had numerous other awards.
He once showed me a photo of the Halloween celebration at his office…….apparently no one held back in costume preparation. Proof positive that his professionalism combined with his sense of humor endeared him to all who knew him.
I will really miss Norm. On the day of his funeral I will wear my Vietnam Veterans pin to work. Undoubtedly I will be asked about the meaning of that day. I will have another chance to tell anyone who asks what a great guy he was.
Godspeed Norm
Scott Krueger
“MY GOD, SOMBODY HELP US.” This has echoed through my brain for the past 47 years, there was nothing I could do. Some 40 hours earlier we had been subjected to a massive ground assault and I could not leave my post in case this was the beginning of another. I did, however, get on the radio requesting help for them.
I never knew who was on that bunker, or what happened to them. Over the years this experience slipped into the abyss of my memory, only surfacing occasionally with the sound of their cries for help.
September 2004, we had our first 6/27th Artillery Battalion reunion and Norm was there. I didn’t really remember him specifically, but I knew we’d had to have pulled guard together several times. As the reunions continued, one every other year, I was able to put things in order and realized it had been Norm on that bunker. Then, it all started coming back.
Norm was a successful State Attorney in Florida and in 2007 was named the D.A.V. Veteran of the Year. I got a call from Joe Dean, another guy I served with in Vietnam, telling me he had gone to the Award Banquet with Norm and his wife, Janie. He also related a funny story of Norm at a restaurant; it sounded something Norm would do.
We have kept in touch through email and reunions. I was always happy getting something from him because you never knew what it would be. About 10 months or so ago he was feeling bad and went to the Doctor, the diagnoses was Leukemia. We spoke last in October and he was failing fast then. I received word this morning he had finally succumbed to Vietnam. It took almost 47 years, but the Nam did get him.
For me, it was a privilege knowing Norm, and an honor to call him friend. God bless Janie and his children.
R.I.P. Old Friend,
Roger Mallory