I came across the following five comments in an ebay chat room I frequent...all made by a Vietnam vet.   I have seen this man  post often over the years.  He is always upbeat and happy, proud husband and father.   Tonight the topic in the chat room turned to war, and it was obvious  his heart ached.  I felt compelled to share his comments, editing out his ID of course. 

 I have two requests...one, that if you have the privilege of running into a Vietnam vet...take that extra minute to thank him...he/she needs to hear it....and second, let's make sure that many years from now, some young man who is serving today in Iraq or Afghanistan isn't reiterating this vet's statements.  Let's make sure they know we care !

"...We were basically all considered little Lt Calley's and drug addicts. Because of Iraq, people are now saying thank you for your sacrifice. We lost 58,000 boys...

But the Thank Yous feel good, we never wanted to be seen in our uniforms, I destroyed mine. We were drafted, we had not much choice...

58,000 boys died, they were soldiers, gave the ultimate sacrifice, yet for all these years, very little respect, even by the WW11 soldiers. They were no more soldiers than we were...

I'm thankful thank we are now getting the thank you's now. Now I feel some proudness in being a Vietnam Soldier and my service was appreciated. Never too late! ...

Excuse the typos, a little emotional! "

Oh, thank you for sharing this!  How heartbreaking!  I do know a Vietnam Vet and while I've thanked him for his service he doesn't talk about any of it.  My heart breaks thinking about Vietnam though and the receptions they got when they came home, it's just not right.

Hello!

 I met one at a fast food place that had his unit hat on. I walked up and asked if he served in Vietnam (just to verify the hat was his and not a gift). When he replied yes I held out my hand and said Thank You for your service. He looked surprised but his wife was smiling. It brought attention from other sitting nearby. I hope it makes them think. 

Met a Airborne Vietnam Vet a very nice guy, we talked for over a hour in a grocery store. We exchanged phone numbers and talked more afterwards.

Met a distant cousin and found that he had found healing in going back to Vietnam. A super guy that runs a charitable program for poor Vietnamese children in a village that he was stationed in over 40 years ago.

I always say Thank You to Americas Best, I wouldn't miss the chance, door 

My husband is a Viet Nam vet and I know he would be touched by your thoughts.  Good idea!

How about ANY Vet?

True, the loss of any is terrible, but it wasn't only Vietnam.  Our troops are world-wide and luck of the draw can be harsh.

Not sure which is worse...to come home to folks who despise you (Vietnam era) or who ignore you (Korean era).

And, please, don't forget those who were not drafted.  They volunteered.

We owe it all, to all of them.

Hey Marty,

I think you know us well enough to know that we do not pass up the opportunity to thank any vet we meet (and as mentioned in another thread, some of us unwittingly even thank civilians in camo).  We know the sacrifices each of them made.  I remember one AS contact in some place like Eygpt asking for packages by stating that they knew how lucky they were not to be in Iraq or A'stan where it was really dangerous, but they were still far from family and friends and could use the moral support.  Very true words. 

WWII vets felt appreciated and came home to a heroes welcome.  I'm sorry to say it went downhill from there.  Folks kind of have had a tendency to ignore the fact that there even is a war going on at times, like during Korea.  In my opinion, our Vietnam era was the culmination of our true national disgrace when the vets felt hated and ashamed of their service.  The good news is that although some people still forget that we are at war, aside from the 2 minutes when it hits the nightly news, a vast majority of folks do support our servicemen and women regardless of their feelings about the war.  Americans are truly the luckiest people on earth, that we have men and women who are willing to volunteer to serve and put themselves in harm's way for our rights and freedoms.  I cannot tell you how many of my contacts have told me that while they do not want to die, they are willing to lay down their lives for our country if it comes to that.  Heroes...each and every one....all who served.

Kathy 

Every time I see someone in uniform, or wearing anything that indicates past or present service (sometimes only a really awesome buff guy with "the" haircut *grin*), I instantly want to go talk to them and thank them. Military and first responders, homeless vets too. I wish I always had the courage to step out and do it; probably about 3/4 of the time I figure out a way to start the conversation. Despite what some think I can be awful shy sometimes! Oddly, when I'm with a friend who knows about my support of the troops is with me, I have more courage to do so to be a model to them and I get past that shyness.

I've often thought about why I don't feel brave enough to walk up to a hero to say thanks---it's as if I think they'll reject that gesture or something, and I know they won't, but it's somehow still challenging to start that conversation. Maybe it's the awkward silence when sometimes they don't really know how to respond to me, too, and I don't want to make them feel awkward either. There's a website that talks about the thank-you sign language gesture, and even if it's better than saying nothing---but I think a personal thank you spoken is so much more powerful. Not to mention a handshake. For someone of any era of service.

 And a PS in response to Kathy's comment about people supporting our heroes no matter what they think of the war, I can testify to the truth of that for sure. I get emails from people all the time telling me why they participate with Cards for Heroes---some because they're 100% behind the war and those who fight it; some because they hate the war but love the men and women serving in it.

One story in particular was from a woman who shared why it meant something to her. She had a friend serving in Vietnam who came home, and she picked him up at the airport at the end of his tour. When he got spat on, she got spat on. She was sooooo angry. She harbored that anger for all these years. And it wasn't til she started physically doing something to support today's men and women by making cards that her heart softened. Her perspective today is completely different.

One way to honor our Veterans is to attend the VFW  Loyalty Day Ceremonies on or about May 1 each year - see Patriotism thread for links posted earlier.

Some VFWs have them earlier than May 1 so you might want to check this week - our localities have ceremonies this week.

Your comments are interesting. My husband is a Vietnam Vet and he wasn't drafted, he was career for twenty six years. They were told not to wear the uniform in public and I heard of a few soldiers were spit on by students. Mostly I remember the body counts every day on the television. So depressing! He really likes it that I support the troops and feels people have a lot of guilt from that era.

I had the most amazing experience on Wednesday. I ride a motorcycle. On Wed, the moving Vietnam Wall arrived in our town. I joined 900 other bikers who escorted it to the place it will be on display for 5 days.

The number of people who lined the streets (for 20 miles) with flags, banners and thank you signs was unforgetable.  The people shouted :Thank  you!  The first group were all Vietnam Vets then the rest of us fell in behind them.

We are going tonight to see the actual wall put together. I'm so excited.

Speaking of bikers - anyone in the area of the n.e. this weekend take a look here -,sponsored by the Blue Knights for the benefit of the Special Olympics Motorcycle skills on display -

www.whiskeycafe.com

Antique cars, good food, etc, click on the box marked June 28 on the left side for info on the bike show.