thedrifter
03-28-08, 07:37 AM
FRIDAY MARCH 28, 2008 Last modified:
SPEAKER: Ret. Army Major Nole Labonte, who served two tours in Vietnam, will have the honor of placing the wreath on the memorial Saturday during the Vietnam Veterans Day service at the Arizona Veterans Memorial. JEFF MANGUM/The Daily News
Friday, March 28, 2008 1:22 AM CDT
Vietnam vets finally get their due
By DOMINIKA MASLIKOWSKI/The Daily News
BULLHEAD CITY - Rocky Beria of Bullhead City remembers coming home from Vietnam in 1969 and the protesters at the Oakland (Calif.) Airport who called veterans “baby killers.” Gene Dessureault got the cold shoulder in Phoenix, returning in 1968 after he served with the Marine Corps. Roger Beaudoin, who served with the Marines in 1966-67, said simply: “There was no reception.”
Now, roughly four decades later, many local veterans say the newly proclaimed Vietnam Veterans Day will give them the reception they never got and help build awareness of their sacrifices.
A ceremony to mark the newly proclaimed Vietnam Veterans Day will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Arizona Veterans Memorial, 2245 Clearwater Drive. After the ceremony, the American Legion will be hosting a barbecue, and the VFW Post 10005 invites the public for drink specials at its recently re-opened facility.
“How many years has it been?” Beaudoin asked. “It's way overdue. But I don't hold a grudge. A lot of the veterans when they came back - whether they had stress or disorders - and basically I was the person who (recovered and) got back on their feet.”
Dessureault, a post commander at VFW Post 10005, says while World War II veterans got their welcomes, those returning from Korea and Vietnam didn't because theirs were unpopular conflicts.
“We never had any recognition in the past ... and it took us years to get our medical problems taken care of,” Beria said. “(Vietnam Veterans Day) brings awareness of the Vietnam veteran and that they weren't as bad as they were portrayed. Just guys doing their job.”
But the veterans say soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are getting the welcoming they deserve partly through the efforts of Vietnam veterans who want to ensure they're not treated as they were.
“To the community, (Vietnam Veterans Day) is going to make an awareness about our troops overseas fighting now,” Dessureault said. “And a lot of that has to do with the Vietnam veterans helping the kids that are over there now. That's why we do these welcome home parties and send-offs.
“Never to let our kids come home again without knowing they were greatly appreciated.”
Ellie
SPEAKER: Ret. Army Major Nole Labonte, who served two tours in Vietnam, will have the honor of placing the wreath on the memorial Saturday during the Vietnam Veterans Day service at the Arizona Veterans Memorial. JEFF MANGUM/The Daily News
Friday, March 28, 2008 1:22 AM CDT
Vietnam vets finally get their due
By DOMINIKA MASLIKOWSKI/The Daily News
BULLHEAD CITY - Rocky Beria of Bullhead City remembers coming home from Vietnam in 1969 and the protesters at the Oakland (Calif.) Airport who called veterans “baby killers.” Gene Dessureault got the cold shoulder in Phoenix, returning in 1968 after he served with the Marine Corps. Roger Beaudoin, who served with the Marines in 1966-67, said simply: “There was no reception.”
Now, roughly four decades later, many local veterans say the newly proclaimed Vietnam Veterans Day will give them the reception they never got and help build awareness of their sacrifices.
A ceremony to mark the newly proclaimed Vietnam Veterans Day will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Arizona Veterans Memorial, 2245 Clearwater Drive. After the ceremony, the American Legion will be hosting a barbecue, and the VFW Post 10005 invites the public for drink specials at its recently re-opened facility.
“How many years has it been?” Beaudoin asked. “It's way overdue. But I don't hold a grudge. A lot of the veterans when they came back - whether they had stress or disorders - and basically I was the person who (recovered and) got back on their feet.”
Dessureault, a post commander at VFW Post 10005, says while World War II veterans got their welcomes, those returning from Korea and Vietnam didn't because theirs were unpopular conflicts.
“We never had any recognition in the past ... and it took us years to get our medical problems taken care of,” Beria said. “(Vietnam Veterans Day) brings awareness of the Vietnam veteran and that they weren't as bad as they were portrayed. Just guys doing their job.”
But the veterans say soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are getting the welcoming they deserve partly through the efforts of Vietnam veterans who want to ensure they're not treated as they were.
“To the community, (Vietnam Veterans Day) is going to make an awareness about our troops overseas fighting now,” Dessureault said. “And a lot of that has to do with the Vietnam veterans helping the kids that are over there now. That's why we do these welcome home parties and send-offs.
“Never to let our kids come home again without knowing they were greatly appreciated.”
Ellie