More than one Vietnam War veteran wiped away tears after receiving the welcome home they deserved 50 years after the war ended in a parade and ceremony at Heritage Park Saturday.
“I really enjoyed it, I thought it was really good,” said Vietnam veteran Jay Lindsey. When he came home he got the same welcome — no welcome at all, which was “apparently pretty much the same that everyone else got,” Lindsey said.
He added that when he landed In Hawaii, other soldiers advised him not to wear his uniform in public, but to wear civilian clothes.
Vietnam veteran Jim Chisholm said had a similar experience coming home. Like many others he expected a parade, but didn’t get one.
“It’s not like today—it’s a different generation,” he said , adding that he hears active serving soldiers are told how much they’re appreciated and people thank them for their service all the time.
Saturday’s ceremony was an attempt by the local American Legion Post No. 45 to correct that oversight and give Korean and Vietnam War veterans the welcome back and parade they deserved decades ago when they came home. It was fairly well attended — mostly by a slew of American Legion Mission 22 riders.
Lynn Wright, coordinator of the event, said she got the idea when talking to a Vietnam veteran who had attended a similar event.
“I went to an event in Oklahoma last year and spoke to a veteran who said one of his biggest healing moments is when his hometown held a welcome back parade (for Vietnam veterans),” Wright said. “It gave him some closure, and I thought, ‘Why don’t we all do that?'”
Col. Michael J. Foote, Fort Riley garrison commander, thanked all veterans present at Saturday’s ceremony, saying “we are a small community inside our nation” and noted he’s always amazed by the humility that Korean and VIetnam War veterans had about their time in service.
“There’s an old unattributed saying that goes something like this: ‘A veteran is someone who at some point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for the amount an amount up to and including their life.'” Foote said. “Our current military is an all-volunteer force. Every service member in uniform today decided to write that blank check of their own accord,” he added.
“For many of you Vietnam War vets and Korean vets as well, Uncle Sam said to you, ‘Hey young citizen, let me have that draft card and sign here on this pre-filled out check and get in line for a snazzy new haircut.’ And however you got there, thank you for your service.”
Foote added that Vietnam veterans who were green berets taught him “how to soldier” as he trained under them in the Special Forces, and he had added that he wasn’t the only service member to benefit from that heritage.
“Every service member who served from Desert Storm until today owes each of you Korean and Vietnam War veterans a huge thank you,” Foote said. “Our nation’s military is unimaginably better based on the hard-learned lessons of your wars. We have better weapons, radios, tactics, boots, helicopters, chow — you name it. Today’s soldiers are better prepared to defend the nation due to the sacrifice of 2.7 million Americans who served in Vietnam; and especially the over 58,000 who gave the ultimate sacrifice and had their names etched in black granite on the VIetnam Veterans Memorial. We are forever indebted to them and their families.”
Foote said as a young captain he talked to a Vietnam veteran in his hometown and found their stories were “completely interchangeable” despite serving over 40 years apart.
“We talked about small villages in completely different countries and yet they were the same place, and our teammates had the same funny stories,” Foote said. “We had the same excitement. We could both smell the same smells … That experience showed me that regardless of the time and place, the brotherhood and sisterhood that service in war creates is timeless.”
In closing his remarks, Foote requested that veterans stop thanking active duty service members for their service, even though that is good for them to hear. But instead, say “I am proud of you.”
“You’ve earned the right to give us something more than a thanks,” Foote said. “If you answered the call, if you wore the uniform and if you fought that fight, then tell this generation and those to come that ‘I’m proud of you.’ … I promise there is no greater compliment than having a fellow warrior and one of your heroes tell you they are proud of your service to this nation.”
Foote ended by saying he proud of the service that Vietnam and Korean veterans gave to the country and he “is proud to be a part of your tribe.”
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