By Renee Worthing
Staff Writer
When the phone rang in August 2007, Sanford residents Wayne and Tracy Elkins had no idea their lives were about to change.
The voice on the other end of the line belonged to Vince Acosta, a man who claimed to have been a bunkmate of Wayne Elkins’ father, Wayne Robert Elkins, Sr., who died in an accident in Vietnam in 1969.
Tracy Elkins said she was skeptical at first.
“It was a phone call out of the blue,” she said.
Acosta also said he was friends with a man named John Craven who served with Wayne Elkins Sr. in A Company, 70th Engineers (Combat) in Khanh Duong, Vietnam.
Acosta and Craven had created a Web site geared to finding their comrades or family members of fallen comrades and said that was the reason for his call.
After several conversations with Acosta, Craven contacted the Elkinses.
The Elkins remained dubious, but Craven continued to give them information about Wayne Elkins’ father.
It was the responsibility of the battalion to build and maintain roads, mine sweep, perform combat missions and build and repair bridges, Craven said.
In October 1969, Wayne Elkins Sr.’s third squad, along with the second squad, were assigned to dismantle living-fighting bunkers on C Company, 864th Engineer compound located in the Deo Cao Pass east of Khahn Duong. An accidental collapse of a bunker took the lives of three men – George C. Davenport Jr. of Thomasville, N.C., William F. McLaughlin of West Roxbury, Mass. – and Wayne Robert Elkins Sr., of Wells.
The day after the accident, Wayne Elkins Sr.’s son and namesake turned 6 years old. Wayne Elkins said he has few memories of his father, but Craven could never forget the three men nor the families they left behind.
Craven told the Elkinses he battled post-traumatic stress syndrome and agonized over being a survivor. He struggled with ways to deal with his feelings, but couldn’t bring himself to confront the past until he received a newspaper article from his mother in 2005. The article was about his boyhood friend, Tom Treece, who wrote a book about his return trip to Vietnam in 2001.
Craven and his wife Gail traveled from Ohio to Michigan to reconnect with Treece and it was then the men learned their tours in Vietnam overlapped in 1968 and 1969.
It was also that night Craven learned about the D.O.V.E. (Development of Vietnam Endeavors) Fund, founded by Toledo, Ohio resident Do Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American man.
The D.O.V.E Fund, a non-profit organization, has raised more than $1.3 million since its inception eight years ago to provide humanitarian and development assistance to areas in Vietnam, promote communication, education, and cultural exchanges, and create an environment brightened by hope and sustained by peace. The organization has built 40 schools, six day care centers and three medical clinics in Vietnam.
Craven joined the D.O.V.E Fund and in March 2007, made the first step in his healing process when he joined other members on their yearly trip to Vietnam to monitor the progress and maintenance of projects.
“The weather and humidity takes a toll on the buildings,” Tracy Elkins said.
Craven traveled to Khanh Duong where he placed a memorial plaque in memory of the three soldiers who died 38 years ago. The area where his camp once stood is a now parcels of land.
“It was a peaceful feeling to see how this land, once used for war was transformed in that which provided sustenance for those who tilled it,” Craven wrote to the Elkinses.
Craven also resolved to raise money through D.O.V.E. to construct a junior high school in Dak Lak, near Khanh Duong, in honor of his fallen comrades.
When he began speaking with the Elkinses, he invited them to join him and other members on another trip to Vietnam slated for last February to visit the site of the school.
“We still didn’t know if we trusted him,” Tracy Elkins said, but when she voiced her concern to Craven, he and Gail, flew out from Michigan to meet the Elkinses at their Sanford home.
The Cravens and Elkins immediately felt at ease with one another.
Wayne and Tracy Elkins agreed to accompany Craven and about 16 other D.O.V.E. Fund members, including Treece and his wife Renee, to Vietnam in late February.
They flew to San Francisco to meet other organization members.
“We were scared and anxious,” Tracy Elkins said. “We only knew John [Craven].”
But, she said their anxiety was eased when D.O.V.E. members greeted them warmly and treated them like family.
“The outpouring of love, I’ve never felt before,” Tracy Elkins said.
She, like others on the trip, was given an itinerary. The booklet outlined their schedule hour-by-hour and provided a blank space for notes.
“Poor poor village – leaving woman wanted to leave baby with us – no husband no way to support,” Tracy Elkins wrote on March 5.
Other entries are more upbeat.
“Took picture of tiger on approach road, warm welcome from students. New school looked very good. Grounds in progress,” another entry read.
The group visited about 20 schools and day care centers, delivered gifts and school supplies and awarded 112 tuition assistance grants, although the money can be used for other things.
“Some kids need shoes or coats or a bicycle to get to school,” Wayne Elkins said.
Tracy Elkins said some of the schools are so crowded, the schools operate in two shifts, leaving young children to walk home alone in the dark.
She said the children’s faces lit up when they received supplies, including toothbrushes and toothpaste a dentist donated.
They visited a medical facility, sanitation projects and clean water treatment systems.
Tracy Elkins said she was particularly touched to see people in Phu Bihn and VyDa who once lived in boats along the Huong River were relocated to “tin huts” set far back from the water’s edge.
“They had no running water, no toilets, nothing,” she said. “They are just baking in the sun in those tin huts without windows for a cross breeze.”
The D.O.V.E. Fund provided financial support to repair latrines, reopen schools and improve life for the community.
For 18 days the group toured communities in Vietnam, but a permit mix-up at the local level government office prevented the Elkinses from visiting the site of the school that will be built in memory of Wayne Elkins’ father and the other two men. However, Wayne and Tracy Elkins said their trip was still rewarding.
They said they made new friends and came away with a new understanding of life beyond the boundaries of their yard and, more importantly, outside the United States.
“I can’t get Vietnam out of my mind,” Tracy Elkins said. “I never realized what a third world country is like, how hard they struggle and how thankful we should be. I am so glad we went, but so thankful to be back.”
Wayne Elkins said he had no expectations for the trip and wasn’t disappointed he didn’t get to see the site of the school that will be built to honor his father.
“I made new friends,” he said.
As they talked about their trip, one or the other walked into another room and returned with another memento, including a cardboard box containing 1,300 photos taken in less than 18 days. They also have a framed copy of the plaque Craven left in the field in Khanh Duong – a gift from Craven.
The couple plans to return to Vietnam next year and hope to visit the site where Craven placed the plaque in a field just outside Khanh Duong. They also hope to visit the site of the school, but until then, they have photos and notes written in an itinerary booklet to remind them of life in Vietnam.
The American Flag that was presented to Wayne Elkins Sr.’s widow in 1969 is no longer stored in a plastic bag. The triangular folded flag, resembling a cocked hat to represent soldiers and sailors of the past and present, is  now displayed in a glass and wooden case – another gift from Craven – on Wayne Elkins Jr.’s mantle.
For more information about the D.O.V. E. Fund, visit www.dovefund.org
To learn more about John Craven, visit www.jecraven.com.