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thedrifter
05-01-03, 11:14 AM
Article ran : 05/01/2003
'Very special people' have their day
By ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF


As U.S. forces begin the process of returning home from the war with Iraq, retired Marine Corps Col. Wayne Morris on Wednesday turned attention to troops that didn’t get a heroes’ welcome.



And he asked that they be remembered 28 years after the end of that war — the war in Vietnam.



“We have always been a very special people, but many have been treated in a manner they wouldn’t treat a dog,” said Morris, a former Camp Johnson commander who is now the human resources director for Onslow County. “They called it a conflict, but it kind of felt more like a war. We know who we are, know what we did and know that we did it well. There’s a more dedicated effort from people in this community (who are) Vietnam veterans than any other group.



“Vietnam veterans are winners,” he said.



Morris’ words rang out over a group of Marines, veterans and civilians who gathered along Aviation Memorial Park at New River Air Station.



Morris shied away from acknowledging many of the Onslow County Marine Vietnam veterans because the community knows who they are, he said. He asked for visiting Vietnam veterans from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard stand for recognition.



He gave some credit to the public and press for an upsurge of popular support to these forgotten heroes. It did, however, spawn what Morris called Vietnam “wannabes.” He addressed them Wednesday.



“Most insidious of the group are those people who never served but claim to be a Vietnam hero,” he said. “People who don’t deserve it erode the honor due others.”



Morris expressed his support for those now in harm’s way and issued a challenge.



“When those warriors come back from (operation) Iraqi Freedom, I want everyone to turn out, (but) I don’t want anybody out there to take advantage of them,” Morris said.



Eric Horner, a lead guitarist and songwriter for country music artist Lee Greenwood, also paid tribute to those who served and those who did not return with a series of four patriotic songs he wrote.



“No greater love can anyone give than to lay down their life so that others might live,” Horner sang.



The Nashville gospel artist is currently married to Debby Horner, the widow of Sgt. Richard L. Blankenship who lost his life from a terrorist bombing in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983.



His latest single, “She is a Hero,” off the album “Freedom Rings” being released today, speaks of the women who support the country at home volunteering with the Red Cross or at soup kitchens, as military spouses or even teachers who give students their patriotic roots in our schools.



Clint Free, an Onslow County veteran who is helping organize an effort to built a Vietnam veterans memorial near the site of the Beirut Memorial in Jacksonville, said he hopes future events will be held at that location when the effort is completed.



But no matter when the project is finished, the events will continue.



“Regardless of how you see us, there was a duty, a call, and they obeyed,” Free said.


http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/photo/050103_memorial.jpg

Don Bryan/Daily News
Remembering Vietnam vets: Petty Officer 1st Class Aretha Paschel Alexander performs the national anthem as Vietnam veteran Clint Free salutes the flag.



Sempers,

Roger