Death Notification Telegram

When the men from the Army came to the door, I was talking to my mother on the phone. She said, "I have to do now.... there are some men from the Army here, and they have scrambled eggs [gold braid] on their hats."    I called my sister-in-law, whose husband was also in Vietnam. I asked if this was a bad thing, even though I knew, and she said yes, very bad.