Venus and Serena Williams share a close bond despite their ongoing tennis rivalry. Students of the Arthur Ashe legacy, the sisters can still learn something from the mighty brotherly gesture made by Johnnie Ashe in 1967 to his brother Arthur.
It’s the 50th anniversary of Arthur Ashe — then a lieutenant in the U.S. Army stationed at West Point — winning the first U.S. Open in 1968, as an amateur. If Johnnie, who was then in the Marines, didn’t do what he did, his brother may never have been in position to win the Open. Or any tournament.
In the spring of 1967, Johnnie, who is at this year’s Open for the 50th anniversary festivities, was on the verge of finishing his 12-month tour of duty in Vietnam. He wrote Arthur and asked him how many months he had left before discharge. Sixteen months, Arthur wrote back.
When July 1967 came, Johnnie went to his superior officers in Vietnam and volunteered to extend his overseas duty for another 12 months.
The perplexed officers wanted to know why.
“I don’t want my brother Arthur Ashe to deal with this,’’ Johnnie told The Post in recalling the meeting. “I knew the rules — you couldn’t have two surviving sons from the same family in Vietnam at the same time.’’
It was not standard practice to grant this type of extension, but the military looked the other way.
“You’re a good Marine — good Marines should stay in Vietnam,’’ they told Johnnie.
Johnnie never mentioned to Arthur why he extended his tour— only explaining it to his father when he came home for a week’s leave.
“He dropped his head and said, ‘It’s the only excuse I’d accept,’ ” Johnnie recalled.
When the ’68 Open rolled around, Johnnie was back from Vietnam, stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and he turned on the television in the rec room to watch the Open finals. His fellow soldiers didn’t realize the connection until they saw the brothers’ resemblance.
“The next few hours, I was giving them a tennis lesson because they had no idea about the sport,’’ Johnnie said.
A virtual reality exhibit on Ashe’s ’68 Open run — produced by Rex Miller — is on display at the Open. On Labor Day, Arthur Ashe will be honored by West Point in a ceremony.
Johnnie and Arthur never talked about it, but their father must have told Arthur what his brother had done later in his life. Arthur wrote his book, “Days of Grace: A Memoir,” as he was dying from AIDS. The final chapter contained an open letter to his daughter, Camera.
“He used it as an example of family love, me going back to Vietnam so he can stay and play tennis,’’ Johnnie said.
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