thedrifter
05-19-08, 09:59 AM
City gives Vietnam vets overdue welcome home
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 19, 2008 6:19:21 EDT
INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Vietnam War veterans and their family members filled the Indiana War Memorial auditorium Saturday for a long-overdue homecoming celebration.
A banner stating “The city of Indianapolis Welcomes Home Vietnam Veterans” was displayed outside the memorial, as the city held its first welcome-home celebration for the veterans. Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Marine veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, greeted guests before and after the ceremony.
“I thought it was important for the city to do it, so at least one municipality is saying, ‘Thanks for what you did,’” said Ballard, who spoke at the ceremony along with Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard.
Vietnam veteran Charles Hahn, 61, said he remembers a woman who was protesting the war spitting on him after he got off a plane in Chicago.
“When soldiers came back from the first Gulf War, they told us to go out and welcome the soldiers back,” Hahn said. “I said, ‘I’m not doing it.’ I didn’t feel right doing it, and I didn’t do it.”
He said he struggled to deal with how he was treated on his return from Vietnam, but Saturday’s ceremony helped.
“It really has, but it shouldn’t have taken them so long to do it,” he said.
Another Vietnam veteran, Olgen Williams, said it took years before he stopped feeling ashamed of his military service.
“For a long time we just didn’t talk about it,” said Williams, Indianapolis’ deputy mayor for neighborhoods. “I don’t think people understand how important saying ‘welcome home’ is. And maybe they will never understand, but it means everything to us.”
Veteran Cliff Graham, 57, said his experiences after the war left him bitter for years. He said he “couldn’t stop choking up” during Saturday’s ceremony.
“We needed this,” said Graham, who served 22 years in the Army. “I’m glad I came.”
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 19, 2008 6:19:21 EDT
INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Vietnam War veterans and their family members filled the Indiana War Memorial auditorium Saturday for a long-overdue homecoming celebration.
A banner stating “The city of Indianapolis Welcomes Home Vietnam Veterans” was displayed outside the memorial, as the city held its first welcome-home celebration for the veterans. Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Marine veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, greeted guests before and after the ceremony.
“I thought it was important for the city to do it, so at least one municipality is saying, ‘Thanks for what you did,’” said Ballard, who spoke at the ceremony along with Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard.
Vietnam veteran Charles Hahn, 61, said he remembers a woman who was protesting the war spitting on him after he got off a plane in Chicago.
“When soldiers came back from the first Gulf War, they told us to go out and welcome the soldiers back,” Hahn said. “I said, ‘I’m not doing it.’ I didn’t feel right doing it, and I didn’t do it.”
He said he struggled to deal with how he was treated on his return from Vietnam, but Saturday’s ceremony helped.
“It really has, but it shouldn’t have taken them so long to do it,” he said.
Another Vietnam veteran, Olgen Williams, said it took years before he stopped feeling ashamed of his military service.
“For a long time we just didn’t talk about it,” said Williams, Indianapolis’ deputy mayor for neighborhoods. “I don’t think people understand how important saying ‘welcome home’ is. And maybe they will never understand, but it means everything to us.”
Veteran Cliff Graham, 57, said his experiences after the war left him bitter for years. He said he “couldn’t stop choking up” during Saturday’s ceremony.
“We needed this,” said Graham, who served 22 years in the Army. “I’m glad I came.”
Ellie