AVERY COUNTY, N.C. —
This Veterans Day brings a different significance to North Carolina's mountain communities. Memories remain for veterans of foreign wars and the wrath of Hurricane Helene.
Bob Tatum, a decorated Vietnam Veteran, earned dozens of awards and recognitions during his time overseas. He enlisted when he was 19 years old and spent a year there.
Almost two months ago, Tatum's home was swept away by Helene's flood waters. Each medal or recognition flushed away to the river rocks that sit near his Avery County home.
“Somewhere between here and the Mississippi River," Tatum said. "I have my memories. That's all I have. Some of them aren't great. My friend from Michigan died. He died real close to me. I could almost touch him.”
Tatum said Helene's wreckage brought up decades-old memories of his time in the service.
"This is so much worse than Vietnam," Tatum said. "It just is. We lost it all. All our possessions. It can be replaced but when you’re 74 years old it's hard to start again.”
They are two experiences separated by half a century, but it's the memories that come rushing back.