For thousands of men who served during the Vietnam War, the years spent fighting were brutal, with extreme living situations, grisly fighting tactics by the enemy and a government that had its own political agenda.

Some never made it home.

But for those who did, the friendships that were created through war bonded these men together forever in a way only Vietnam veterans can explain.

On a recent fall day, Sgt. Frank Kattner and Staff Sgt. Amos Eslieb met at Lengyel’s Restaurant in Nesquehoning to share their war stories and have a beer with the dollar bill they tore in half nearly a half century ago.

“I don’t even know why we did it,” Eslieb, of Bethlehem who is a native of Hauto, said. “Maybe it was a good luck thing. I think maybe it was that we will see each other again and celebrate.”

Kattner, of Nesquehoning, added that this get-together was one of only two visits the pair have had since splitting the dollar on Dec. 18, 1968, while stationed at Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam.

Both Kattner and Eslieb called Da Nang home for a year, but were only stationed there at the same time for approximately two weeks and saw each other only once.

“Somehow we connected on Dec. 18, 1968. We got together at the airman’s club and split a dollar bill and said we’ll get together someday after the war is over,” Kattner said, taking his half of a dollar from a baggie. “And here we are today.”

The 50-year-old dollar pieces look as good as today’s currency, with minimal wear, showing the two men cherished their promise to each other.

Joining the military

Both Kattner, a 1964 graduate of Marian Catholic High School, and Eslieb, a 1964 graduate of Nesquehoning High School, enlisted in the Air Force in July 1966.

“In the spring of 1966 near the end of our schooling (at Bethlehem Business School), the Vietnam War was ramping up and we knew that once we finished school our military deferment would be changed to 1A (eligible for service) and we would be drafted and probably be sent to Vietnam,” Kattner said. “Rather than be drafted, we chose to enlist in the service of our choice. By choosing the Air Force to avoid going to Vietnam, we eventually wound up in Vietnam anyway.”

The two chose Air Force because they were promised the buddy system, which meant they would go through basic training together at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

“That never happened,” Kattner said. “In four years, we only saw each other that one day for the dollar. We got lied to right from the start.”

Eslieb was sent to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, while Kattner was sent to Lackland.

In January 1968, Eslieb was assigned to the 366th Support Group in Da Nang, where he was stationed for one year.

Off to war

Eslieb recalls the sights he witnessed while in Da Nang that proved the government was not being truthful with both the soldiers and the American people.

“My parents would say (when they corresponded with me) that they saw in the news that 20 or 30 people had been killed in a day,” Eslieb said, adding that there were two morgues in Da Nang. “It wasn’t true. Hundreds of transport containers lined the area daily. It was a river of blood passing the morgue as they embalmed all the bodies.”

“It is sobering to see that,” Kattner added.

“There were many untold lies, but it all came out later,” Eslieb said. “The Vietnam War tore the country apart.”

In December 1968, Eslieb’s time in Vietnam was coming to an end, while Kattner’s was just beginning.

Following his assignment in Misawa, Japan, Kattner traveled to Da Nang, where he served in the 6924th Security Squadron until returning to the states in December 1969.

Kattner recalled a fire that started off base but spread to the ammo dump and exploded and caused significant damage to the buildings; and the nightly attacks by the enemy.

“Every night there was a rocket attack,” he said. “When you heard the sirens, it means they were already on their way in. You just jumped into the bunker with sandbags and prayed.”

“I used to count the rockets that hit the base,” Eslieb added.

Finally home

The two completed their years of service in bases in California and Arkansas and were both honorably discharged in July 1970.

Both men still carry the unseen scars of war, from a time they will never forget, but have gone on and made meaningful lives for themselves.

Sitting in Lengyel’s together for their lunch, Kattner and Eslieb chatted about their experiences without missing a beat, almost like 50 years hadn’t passed since they promised each other that one day they would meet up again.