Jim Taylor (left) and Nancy Wells first met at a hospital in Vietnam.

Two UAW members from northwest Ohio whose paths first crossed at the 85th Evac Hospital in Qui Nhon, Vietnam, are looking forward to returning to the place that still impacts their lives 33 years later.

UAW Local 6000 member and nurse Nancy Wells and the young soldier she treated in 1967 for shrapnel wounds, Jim Taylor, UAW Local 1892, were reunited last Veterans Day. Each of them had been asked to serve on a committee as part of a people-to-people effort to heal the wounds of war on both sides.

The two Vietnam vets serve on the board of the DOVE Fund, Development of Vietnamese Endeavors, which is raising money to build schools and medical clinics in Quang Tri province.

The fund was organized by Representative Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio. "For me, this is a chance to do something constructive and to get the war behind me," said Taylor, a health and safety representative at Ford’s Maumee, Ohio Stamping plant.

Wells, who couldn’t speak about the war for 26 years, is anxiously looking forward to attending a school and clinic ground breaking ceremony in Vietnam. "We had our reasons for being there, and the Vietnamese were fighting for their cause, but it was the kids who were the real victims. I’m glad to be able to play a part in the reconciliation between our countries," says the state of Michigan employee.

People interested in helping can send a donation to The DOVE Fund, P.O. Box 310, Toledo, Ohio, 43697.