“When our
ship reached the Golden Gate, they had made a sign with painted rocks on the
Marin County side. It said, ‘Welcome Home Boys.’”
“There will
be crowds of protesters at the gate of the airport. Do not engage them. People
have been hurt there.”
The first
was a story told me by a man who had been a Seabee during World War Two. It tells
of what greeted those men when they returned home.
The second
followed behind, “Make sure your seat belts are securely fashion …” It’s how my
brothers, my sisters, and I came home from our wartime service. It was just the beginning.
For the
next fifty years, we were, at best ignored, at worst suffered the ubiquitous
description as drug-crazed sociopaths in the press, books, movies, conversations,
and the national consciousness. We were all bums wandering the streets
muttering to ourselves and scaring the bejesus out of good decent people
everywhere.
This
always troubled me and some good friends—all fellow Vietnam vets. One was an attorney
with one of the top law firms in the state, another a successful architect, one
the head of a major state office, one a retired police officer, another a manager
of the racetrack in West Virginia where they train government agents in evasive
driving. (He once had the opportunity to drive Paul Newman around the facility).
I could go
on and on. Point is, there’s not a drug-crazed sociopath amongst them.
It didn’t
matter. As I’ve said, myth will shred reality on any given day.
But wait. On
March 29, the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) will host a large
ceremony in Little Rock. It will feature the formal pinning of the
Commemoration’s Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin on several hundred veterans.
“At last,”
you say, “our country will honor those who served our country in Vietnam. That’s
nice.”
But wait,
it’s fifty years too late.
“No problem.
Better late than never.”
But wait.
About that lapel pin … you didn’t have actually to serve in Vietnam to receive one.
“You’re
kidding.”
No, if you
served anywhere, anytime during that time, you’ll get yours, right alongside the
guy in the wheelchair with no legs. Even a former president who avoided Vietnam by joining the National Guard and failed even to attend his drills can get one.
“Too bad.
Are you going to sign up?”
No.
“What
about the people who worked so hard to put it on?”
As we used
to say, “F” ‘em and feed 'em fish heads.
“But shouldn’t
all those who served be honored?"
Absolutely.
They served their country when so many refused to or even chose to dishonor
those who did. I hold most in high esteem.
“But?”
But Vietnam
Vet means one who served in Vietnam, not one who served during Vietnam. Would
you call the person who spent his enlistment for the last four years at an air
base in Florida an “Afghanistan Veteran? If you would, you’ve never had the
experience of having someone walking mortar rounds toward where you were posted.
“So what
will you do during the ceremony?”
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| Honor or Insult? |
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