WESTFIELD, David Holdridge, a Vietnam veteran who spent 40 years doing humanitarian work overseas, is now writing detailed memoirs about his life. In retirement, Holdridge has dedicated himself to capturing his experiences with urgency, drawing inspiration from authors he admired in his youth.
War has been a thread through his family history. His parents met during World War II when his father, Henry, a soldier from the Bronx, was stationed in Australia, where his mother, Helen, worked as a wartime nurse. His great-grandmother, Molly Rutherford, served as a nurse in the Boer Wars starting at age 15.
Holdridge spent his first nine years in Australia before being sent to live with his grandmother in New York at age 10, after causing a disturbance at home while his sister recovered from polio in an iron lung.
Originally reported by Barton Chronicle.
Photo: Annie Spratt via Unsplash. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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