With this, we're introducing a new feature.  "Unanswered Questions" will seek to answer mysteries great and small that TBAA, ToD, and other John Dye projects left us with.  Obviously we don't *know* the answers but it's fun and interesting and sometimes even kinda therapeutic to imagine some up.  If you have something you've always wondered about from one of his shows or movies, let us know and we'll try to come up with an inventive answer.  And if you see something in these segments that you have a theory on and would like to share please do!

Typically we'll feature more than one question here but since yours truly rambled on forever, we'll stick with this one question for now:

Unanswered question: What ever happened to Doc Hock after we last saw him in the final episode of Tour of Duty?

From Rebecca:

Doc stayed behind in Saigon for several years and fell in love and became involved with one of the girls.  His addiction became worse and then Saigon fell.  He was left behind and stayed with the girl he had fallen in love with.  She became pregnant and he eventually made it back to the US with her and their baby girl.  They were married and after many struggles he became and stayed sober.  He eventually went to medical school and became an ER Doc.

Later on he burned out on being an ER doc and did a residency in psychiatry with a specialty in addiction and post traumatic stress disorder and started a clinic for Vietnam Vets who had addiction problems.  Doc has led a productive life and is still enjoying life and enjoying his many grandchildren.

From Jenni (who unexpectedly got really long-winded... shocker):

When last we saw him, poor Doc was drunk and wandering down an alley in Vietnam.  He was so out of sorts that he just kept wandering and wandering.  Eventually he wandered right into the jungle, up a mountain, and passed out. 

The next morning he came to in a little hut, hearing the sounds of children laughing and people going about their day.  Doc was very disoriented (and more than a little hungover) so just looked around in shock.  His gaze finally locked on an American-looking fellow sitting in the corner, dressed in what reminded Doc of Native American dress.  It was Kithem aka Master Sergeant Carter from the Season 1 episode "Paradise Lost."  In his drunken stumbling, Doc managed to wander onto land occupied by the Katu, a tribe of Montagnards, who Kithem resided with after getting discharged.  A band led by Kithem had happened upon Doc and brought him to safety.

Knowing from personal experience the damage that war can do on a troubled psyche, Kithem took Doc under his wing.  He also pulled some strings to get Doc a general discharge.  (I like to think Kithem/Carter reconnected with Zeke who then took it to Goldman who made it happen.)  Once that was done, it didn't take Doc very long to really take to living as the Katu do, tending the land, caring for the sick, etc.  And he got clean.  Eventually he fell in love with a Katu woman, we'll call her Linh, and started a family.  Let's say they had 4 kids, two girls and two boys.

Since life had long been difficult for the Montagnards in Vietnam with repeatedly being forced from their land; Doc, Linh, and their family immigrated to North Carolina with others in the tribe (apparently there's a sizable Montagnard population there).  Since he's American, Doc ended up getting hired by the local government (an irony that was not lost on him) to be a liaison between the city and the new citizens so spent a lot of time helping the Montagnards settle in, get services as needed, etc.  This also put Doc in contact with other soldiers who had experiences similar to him and Kithem which helped Doc put some of his demons to rest.  Once everyone was settled, Doc became a social worker for the general population and he and his family were able to live comfortably though not extravagantly... just as he and Linh like it. 

Though he never returned to drinking or drugs, Doc continued to be haunted by the way things ended with him and the guys.  Sometimes Linh would find him standing on the porch in the middle of the night, looking up at the stars.  As she held him, he'd tell her that he sometimes still wondered what became of the guys.  Who made it home?  Where were they?  Had they found happiness?  Had they forgiven him?

Other than those instances, Doc seldom talked about his experiences during the war.  But sometimes he called out names in his sleep.  Linh dutifully wrote the names down.  One day, when Doc was at work and the kids at school, Linh took her list of names and made her way first to the library and then to Veteran's Affairs.  That night over a dinner of sweet and sour chicken (Doc never could touch pork again after that one particular incident... ;-) Linh announced that she wanted the family to take a vacation in the summer so the children could see more of their country.  Then she presented Doc with a map of their journey.  How could he say no after Linh had put so much thought into it?

So come that summer of 1977, the Hockenbury clan piled into their car.  Doc couldn't help but think that while it wasn't exactly the wild, free-spirited road trip he'd wished for in his youth... it was pretty darn groovy to have all you love right there with you, taking in the open road.  Following Linh's map, the family eventually found their way to Michigan where Doc was surprised to find Linh absolutely adamant that they check into one particular hotel.  So the six got out of the car and Doc began to speak to the front desk clerk about getting a room when, from the direction of the bar, he heard a very familiar laugh.  And then another.  Dazed, he walked towards the bar with Linh (feeling very anxious but hopeful) and the kids following. 

There, sitting at a table playing poker, were the two hoteliers: Marvin Johnson and Marcus Taylor.  For a while, the three men just stared at each other.  The front desk clerk approached and asked Doc if he was still intending on staying.  The spell broken, Taylor told his employee to comp the room.  Johnson saw the woman and four kids lingering a couple yards behind and added to make it a suite.  Doc started mumbling about how they can pay and there's no need to do that and maybe they should keep going because he didn't want to put anyone out or upset anyone.  Then he started to tear up.  Linh moved forward to comfort her husband.  Taylor was still pretty mute but Johnson asked another employee to show the family to their room and told Doc that he and Taylor would be by after they'd had some time to settle in. 

And they stuck to their word.  While Johnson's and Taylor's wives and children kept Linh and the kids company and showed them around, the three men went to Johnson's penthouse and talked over their experiences.  Though he was out of Vietnam by the time everything went south with Doc, Johnson had been filled in by Taylor and the others and was able to mediate when things got rocky between Doc and Taylor.  And they did come to a place of understanding.  Things went so well that they ended up inviting Doc to the yearly get-together they have with the other guys.  That first one proved healing, too, and Doc was finally able to forgive himself and live in peace. 

And every year the guys still meet up, showing off pictures of children's weddings and new grandchildren.

And that's what I think happened to Doc Hock.

JABB TOC

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(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from "Touched by an Angel" and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions and "Tour of Duty" and owned by New World Television.  The images are not being used to seek profit.)