The calm skies above Sarg Hubbard Park were broken Saturday by a thundering military helicopter from the Yakima Training Center, marking the start of the 10th annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony in Yakima.
In an event put on by the Yakama Warriors Association, more than 250 community members, officials and Vietnam veterans gathered to honor Americans who served in the Vietnam War. Veterans stepped up to a podium, recalling their experiences during the war and the struggles they faced upon returning to the U.S.
Several local politicians thanked the veterans for their service. Two words rang out over and over beneath the blue, cloud-scattered sky: “Welcome home.”
“My experience in Vietnam will always be on my mind and I will never forget you young men who fought so far from home,” said Connie Evans, who served as a nurse in Vietnam beginning in 1966.
Evans, a member of the Nez Perce tribe, was invited by the Yakama Warriors Association to be the keynote speaker, the first time a woman was chosen for the honor.
Many noted the unwelcome atmosphere veterans faced when they first returned from Vietnam. It was a difficult experience, especially after serving in such a devastating conflict.
“Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,” said Francisco Ivarra, president of the Washington State Council of the Vietnam Veterans of America. “Welcome home is not the same as coming home, and we were not welcomed home.”
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is observed March 29. The last U.S. combat troops withdrew from Vietnam on March 29, 1973.
Former state representative Norm Johnson and Sen. Curtis King represented Yakima and led political efforts in Washington to recognize the day. Both spoke Saturday.
“This day is a reminder to all of us to say thank you,” King said. “We individuals and as a country owe all these men and women here today a great debt for your sacrifice.”
Yakima City Council member Soneya Lund read a city resolution acknowledging veterans’ service and the importance of the Welcome Home Day to the city. Staff at the Yakima Valley Vet Center were also offered to those assembled.
Evans, who traveled from Idaho to speak at the event, recalled a few of her experiences. She served as a nurse from 1965 to 1969 before she joined the Army Reserve Corps and Indian Health Services in the Pacific Northwest.
“As a young nurse, I felt my service was needed,” she said.
She spoke about hot weather and monsoon rains and remembered when she first treated casualties in December 1966. Nurses worked long shifts, treating injured soldiers as they were transported to and from the hospital by helicopters, she said.
“I’ve never seen injuries like I did that one year or experienced that many young deaths,” she said. “I still find it difficult to hear a helicopter today.”
In an interview after the ceremony’s conclusion, Evans said she wants to see more resources for Vietnam veterans today.
“I know there are a lot of Vietnam veterans who don’t receive the care,” she said.
When the speakers finished, poems from an anonymous veteran were read aloud, service songs for the various branches of the armed forces were played and one of the event organizers, Gil Calac, led members of the Yakama Warriors Association in singing the Horse Song, a prayer song to honor veterans.
A six-person Welcome Home committee of members of the Yakima Warriors Association has been planning the event since November, said Dwayne Drake, a Vietnam veteran and member of that group. Other community members have volunteered to help organize and write grant proposals.
Drake said he appreciated the public support at the event and from local businesses that recognize veterans. The ceremony honored veterans and gave them a chance to meet those who might have shared experiences, he said.
“Being in a group like this is helpful,” Drake said. “You’re in a group that’s got the same feeling.”
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