Letters In A Helmet: A Story of Fraternity and Brotherhood

In October 2019, lifelong friends Ron Sorter and Bob Tierno authored a book that had its genesis over five decades ago. Their memoir, Letters in a Helmet,  is a double-helix twist, taking the reader across a landscape of puberty, fraternity life, military service, career transitions, marriages, war wounds, battles with prostate cancer and bereavement. Laughter and discovery are the mainstays of the book.

They derive the cover of their book from something that happened in 1970. Ron wrote a letter to Bob and tossed it into his platoon sergeant’s helmet, along with other mail being sent home by his troops from the jungles of Vietnam. He took a photo of the helmet and sent it to Bob, too.

That image bonded them for life. It not only appears on the book’s cover but it emerges as the metaphor driving its contents.

The book’s subtitle, “A Story of Fraternity and Brotherhood” was demonstrated in full a few months later when Ron, then an infantry company commander, was severely wounded. The Army notified his family but gave them precious few details. Their grief was palpable as they notified Ron’s friends.

When Bob learned about Ron’s incident, he contacted his dad, Rocky, a Pearl Harbor survivor and colonel in the Infantry. Rocky asked a friend at the Pentagon if he would notify him each day of Ron’s whereabouts and condition. Rocky then relayed that information to Bob, who called Ron’s loved ones every day. The care shown by Bob’s family and the relief felt by Ron’s was, and still is, the emblem of the bond between their families.

This book is an honest and deeply personal memoir of their intertwining lives ever since. The laughter and happiness they’ve found in their lives are a constant thread. They share a joy of the absurd, which always leavens seven decades of living. Early in 2019, as Bob successfully recovered from prostate surgery, the love of Ron’s life, Michelle, passed away, and his grief was endless. They decided then, to write their book.