Lynn man reflects on brother’s service

LYNN – The last memory Thomas Mailloux has of his brother alive is the day John Mailloux walked into his house and tossed a six pack of beer on the table in front of his brother. Mailloux was on his way a short time later to Vietnam where he was killed Nov. 24, 1968 fighting with the 7th Marine Division.When Thomas Mailloux visits the Vietnam traveling Wall, arriving in Lynn Aug. 25, he will remember the accomplishment his brother achieved by serving his country.”He went there as a kid and when he was there he became a man. He grew up but he didn’t get a chance to live.”John Mailloux was the middle child among five siblings including Thomas and sisters Maureen, Patricia and Carol. They grew up in the Green Street projects, moving later to Walnut Street where their mother, Alice, took in foster children.Maureen “Moe” Hudson remembers how her brother took on the role of big brother to the foster kids.”He protected everybody,” she said, adding he extended the same loyalty and support to his friends.Those friends still visit John Mailloux’s grave where he is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery’s veteran lot.Hudson plans to speak on behalf of her mother on Aug. 29 when visitors to the traveling wall honor mothers who endured the hardest loss during the Vietnam War. She is drawing memories from letters her brother wrote to his mother to compose her speech.”I’ll speak about what my family endured. It was really tough on my mother. I feel my speaking from her letters will be a chance to speak for her. I’m doing it for my family,” she said.John Mailloux received a degree posthumously from the former Lynn Trade high school. Thomas Mailloux thinks his brother’s generosity to others and the loyalty he earned from friends would have seen him go far in life had he survived Vietnam.”For a lot of young people back then, there were not a lot of choices. I would tell kids today on behalf of my brother, ‘Go to school, study and be better than average.'”The traveling Vietnam veterans memorial “The Wall That Heals” will visit Fraser Field Aug. 27-30. Opening cermonies will be held Aug. 27 at 6 p.m., followed by a ceremony honoring Gold Star Families on Aug. 28 at 6 p.m., a POW/MIA remembrance ceremony on Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. and closing ceremonies on Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. Admission is free and the entrance at 120 Locust St. will be open 24 hours a day. Parking is available on Ford and Locust streets. For more information, visit www.lynnwallvisit.com