Memories of Jerry

A dusty old novel tumbles off a shelf at Whit's End - one Whit always claimed to hate - and out slips a postcard Jason has never seen, written to him by his brother Jerry from Vietnam. Connie's questions carry Jason back to the year everything changed: the high-jump bar he could never clear, the coach who cut him, and Jerry, the star athlete who looked at his failures and said, "I believe in you." Then comes a weekend at the family cabin, interrupted when Jerry's old friend Plato arrives with a draft notice in hand and a boat pointed toward Canada... and a dare for Jerry to run too. After a night of honest prayer, Jerry stays on the dock, choosing to serve even though he is afraid - and five months later, the family learns he has been killed protecting others. Now Jason and Connie see the postcard's date: just days before Jerry died, arriving as the terrible news did, which is why Whit hid it in the book he could never bear to open or throw away. Jason slips the card back where it fell, keeping his brother's last message - and his promise never to forget.

Found on The Search for Whit Album 27 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0346 St. Paul: Voyage to Rome When a Roman centurion is ordered to escort the prisoner Paul to Rome, his young son joins a sea voyage that will test everything he's been taught about loyalty, courage, and faith.

0347 St. Paul: An Appointment with Caesar A Roman centurion escorting the apostle Paul to Rome must reckon with a prisoner whose faith survives shipwreck, snakebite, and the wrath of an emperor.

0348 With a Little Help from My Friends When Sam, Connie, and June each cave to pressure from the crowd in one bad afternoon, the friends at Whit's End band together to find the courage to stand alone.

0349 Blessings in Disguise When a small-town girl learns her long-distance pen pal is coming to visit, she scrambles to become the impressive person she invented in her letters.

0350 The Time of Our Lives A mall-obsessed girl and a TV-addicted boy each discover just how much a wasted hour can really cost.

0351 What Are You Gonna Do with Your Life? With graduation looming and no career in sight, Connie frantically tries on one job after another in a two-day scramble to figure out her entire future.

0352 Memories of Jerry While replacing books at Whit's End, Jason discovers a long-hidden postcard from his brother Jerry that pulls him back to a fateful summer during the Vietnam War.

0353 A Question About Tasha A surprise wedding announcement at Whit's End raises a question no one - including the groom - is quite ready to answer.

0354 Blind Justice Two jurors on an open-and-shut burglary case discover that doing justice means questioning everything everyone else takes for granted.

1 of 3 0355 The Search for Whit When Whit vanishes after unearthing an ancient parchment that could shake the foundations of Christianity, his son Jason and Eugene race across the globe to find him before two shadowy factions do.

2 of 3 0356 The Search for Whit When the search for his missing father takes a dangerous turn, Jason Whittaker must untangle hidden messages, shifting loyalties, and a web of watchers to learn who can truly be trusted.

3 of 3 0357 The Search for Whit With enemies closing in on every side, Whit leads Jason and Eugene to a hidden dig site where a mysterious parchment's claims about the most explosive discovery in history will finally be put to the test.

0358 The Secret Weapon When a struggling Little League player loses all faith in himself, his rookie coach hands him a legendary slugger's old bat said to have a mind of its own.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 2 more roles

2 supporting roles

Coach Blanski David Lipson Leonard (Plato) Plateman Randy Crenshaw

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Phil Lollar Writer · Director Mark Drury Sound Designer · Producer Dave Arnold Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

While searching the Whit’s End library, Connie accidentally opens the hidden entrance to the computer room and knocks books from a shelf. As she and Jason replace them, Jason notices an old novel called *The Terminus Factor*. Whit had always claimed to hate the book, so Jason cannot understand why he kept it. A postcard slips from its pages, addressed to Jason from his older brother, Jerry, during the Vietnam War.

Jason has never seen the card. Jerry asks about track, calls him “Judge,” and jokes about Jason’s efforts to master the Fosbury Flop. He also writes, “Never forget, little brother, Plato was wrong.” Connie’s questions lead Jason back to junior high, when he had hoped to become a track star like Jerry but repeatedly crashed into the high-jump bar.

Coach Blanski finally cut Jason from the team, saying that hard work could not replace talent. Jerry intervened and persuaded the coach to grant one last attempt. Jason missed the bar again, but his improved form impressed Jerry. While Jason saw humiliation, Jerry saw progress and assured him, “I believe in you.” He then invited Jason to spend a weekend alone with him at the family cabin on Lake Michigan.

At the university, they encountered Jerry’s old friend Leonard Plaitman, nicknamed Plato. Plato had embraced the antiwar movement and was horrified that Jerry planned to leave ROTC and volunteer for service in Vietnam. Jerry’s language studies made him a needed specialist, and he considered service a duty. Plato accused him of supporting an immoral government and urged him to attend a peace rally instead.

Jerry and Jason later emerged from the ROTC building into that rally after it had turned violent. Protesters targeted them, threw rocks through windows, and forced them back inside until police dispersed the crowd with tear gas. Jerry acknowledged that terrible things could happen in war and that people sometimes surrendered to evil. He trusted Jesus to keep him faithful and told Jason that Christ would remain with him wherever he went.

At the cabin, the brothers swam, boated, hiked, gathered bark specimens for Whit, and enjoyed the time together. Then Plato unexpectedly arrived. His draft notice had come, and he intended to cross the lake into Canada rather than serve. Jerry accused him of using conscience as an excuse for fear. Plato admitted he was afraid, challenged Jerry to admit the same, and invited him to escape to Canada too.

That night Jason heard Jerry praying beside the lake. Jerry confessed his fear, considered Jesus’ teaching about peacemakers, and asked God to show him the right path. At sunrise Jason found Plato’s boat pulling away while Jerry remained on the dock. Terrified of losing his brother, Jason begged him to call Plato back and go with him.

Jerry explained that prayer and honest questioning had returned him to the same answer: he must go to Vietnam. Escaping might keep his body alive, but betraying his commitments to God, country, and family would not be true living. Jesus had faced death faithfully and conquered it, so Jerry did not need to be ruled by fear. Jason could not accept the danger, but his brother held and comforted him.

The family watched Jerry board his plane two days later. Five months afterward, on November 12, 1971, Jason came home to find his parents crying. Jerry had been killed in a skirmish while protecting others. It was the last time Jason had seen him.

Back at Whit’s End, Connie notices that the hidden postcard is dated November 7, only days before Jerry’s death. They realize it may have arrived as Whit and his wife received the official visit about their son. Whit could have been reading *The Terminus Factor* and placed the card inside when the visitors came, leaving the book forever connected to that moment. Unable either to read it or throw it away, he had preserved the final message exactly where it fell.

Jason returns the postcard to its place inside the hated novel. He will keep the book as Whit kept it and honor Jerry’s last reminder. Looking at the words once more, Jason quietly promises his brother that he will not forget.