Viet Nam and Memorial Day

Such a moving tribute to those who served in Viet Nam. You also give us all a dose of guilt for our younger folly. We all know of the sacrifice of those who participated and by their families. And in many cases, they still suffer the wounds both mental and physical from that time.

One of the great issues Viet Nam raised is "Where is the blame, when a leadership goes to war against the wishes of its own people?" The ancient Greeks posed the issue well "Who will watch the public guardians?" We still need those watchers.

My brother in law still serves in the military and has been not permitted to retire. The sacrifices still go on with those currently in the armed forces.

We cannot remake the past. We can try to make a better future.

Thanks for your comments..I went to Vietnam in 1968....I was wounded twice while there...I live everyday with the memories of what happened there..Sometimes I still feel some guilt for surviving that war...I guess it just wasn't my time to die...Even after the war for years people called me names, and laugh at me for going to that war..I don't regret what I did. I remained in the Marine Corps and retired in 2000...So I forgive you and all those who did not agree with what was going on during that time..So don't feel guilty and ashamed any longer..You did what you had to do..We did what we had to do...Thats what America is all about. We will survive...Have a great day! A Vietnam Veteran..

That war, the Viet Nam War was over 35 years ago.

Since that time there have been other places and others that have served and are still serving and will in the future.

And of those who served, particular those who served in a conflict, that service is not just remembered, it's not forgotten. And our service is remembered by those who served with us, our and their families and maybe some of their communities.

But for the rest, it is a day off, the beginning of summer, outdoor activity, travel and fun. And there is nothing wrong with that, that is, enjoying a holiday, that is what a holiday is for, or is it?

The theme of this holiday is a little different.

It once was called Decoration Day. Parades were held, events put on, speeches made and there were flags. Flags on the graves of those who served, some of whom had fallen in battle or the result of battle, but all the veterans had decorations, small flags mostly.

I remember Decoration Day, I remember Memorial Day, I remember those who have served and I remember those that didn't.

Very nice Marti.

This is very touching. Thank you for serving and for posting this message. My son is in the Army and i know how he feels about this country and those who serve. Thank you again from both of us.

Every year I go to the service held at our local Memorial Park. I hide in my truck as people walk up the steps to fill the chairs set up in rows, like the podium, perfectly placed in a semblance of order in front of the monuments with the names of other veterans etched on them. Just as the first speaker begins to talk I take my place…behind them all I stand as tall as I can not wanting to be seen. I never hear the words of those folks speaking. I hear the sounds of war. I always feel more guilt than any pride.

I thank you, as all veterans do, for your kindness, your forgiveness and your gentle acceptance of the parts of us that are forever missing now. We, all of us, leave so much behind. Forgiveness is so easy to give you. I truly love you all.
Please always be gentle with yourselves and with each other. Let us always fight harder for peace than we do for war.

I thank you, my friend.

I have been trying to forget for 4o years. I do believe your apolige is from the heart and I thank you. But for me I"m bitter and I know it. I needed a pat on the back 40 years ago and didn't get it. MY mind is still back there. On memorial day you see grave sites I see mangled dead bodies.
Getting killed is the easy part, surviving and having to live with yourself... well it never ends.

On behalf of my deceased husband, a Marine VietNam veteran, I thank you. One day about 6 years ago, he came into the house and said that a woman came up to him in Home Depot and thanked him for his service in VietNam.(He was wearing his Vietnam Veteran cap) He started to cry right there in the kitchen. He said that no one had ever said that to him before.

So, to all VietNam Veterans I too say "Thank You for your service". Let's make sure that our veteran's are never treated like that again.

Very nicely put Marti. I hope that despite how people feel about this current war, that we remember them as well. War is never pleasant, but unfortunately, it is sometimes necessary.

Thank you so much for the blog. I was in Vietnam in 68-69. I was a closet veteran for some time; bring a Vietnam vet on campus didn't make you a popular guy. After they built The Wall, 1982, the vets devloped a simple greeting, Welcome home. What you wrote, Marti, was very moving. But for most of us veterans, a simple Welcome home is enough. You see, nobody thought to say that to us, back in the day.

thank you rvn 68

Yes, thank you to all of you. My brother Jim was lost for a while, and when he came home after 3 years he was a grown man at 18. He loved his family and his country. He died 2 months ago with complications of agent orange.
nameste

I accept your apology with a warm heart. I don't think I have ever been so moved. You know, when I was going home after coming back, I was one of many who was spat on in San Francisco airport. For a long time, I hated those people, not any more. It is time to forgive but not to forget. I love you all, Milo.

How beautiful to have read this post and all the comments.

Thank you ALL!!

A Very Grateful woman
Carol

Thank you, great writing. My father served 3 tours - why I'll never know. He seldom talks of it. I too have the same reaction to my students running around in cammo. They really have no idea of what we are still trying to understand after all these years.

take care.

Thank you for your writing. I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks to all who served in the armed forces. And now, let's end Irag and Afghanistan too, so those young men and women can come home before it's too late.

Thank you. '72

Thank you. Honest, eloquent, powerful, and remarkable, your post moved me deeply and brought some healing.

As an 18 year old and after one year of college, I joined the US Navy serving four years on three ships from 1965-69. One friend I joined with went to Vietnam on a river patrol boat. Another became an alcoholic, lost somewhere in San Francisco. I went to the Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Med.

Being young and naive at the time, I initially sympathized with the protesters. I even considered going to the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention on my trip home for leave prior to shipping out (but didn't).

At some point during that period, I can't pinpoint exactly when, why, or how, I came to regard most Vietnam protesters with undiluted contempt. I think you pointed out some of the reasons for that.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that feeling will ever completely go away, mainly because of my love for those brave, humble, selfless, sacrificial heroes, mostly young and lacking in privilege, of whom we as individuals and as a nation will never be worthy. But also because of the stark contrast in character between them and the privileged, sheltered, often narcissistic protesters. The sheltered and ungrateful many protected by the heroic, sacrificial few.

I imagine that some have since had misgivings about their behavior during that time and have come to the place of penitence. That is good and fitting and right. The purging of repentance is something we all desperately need, if nothing else just because of who and what we are and what we do. And we need to drop to our knees before those long dead or wounded heroes and beg their forgiveness, as you so eloquently and powerfully have done.

I will not argue that Vietnam was a just or wise or good war, a war that needed to be fought. I am agnostic regarding that. I do believe that the massive, domestic undermining of the war once we were irrevocably committed, even when well-intentioned, caused incalculable harm to our warriors, our nation, and to the millions in Vietnam and surrounding countries who were brutalized and slaughtered after our unseemly, untimely abandonment of them. That may be the even greater tragedy.

I do not know anyone who can utter the definitive yea or nay concerning whether we should have gotten involved there, as is the case in many affairs of human history. I do know that good leaders often have to make hard, painful, seemingly inexplicable decisions and that they often must bear the burdens of their decisions alone. I'm pretty sure that, in the end, only God can sort out all those things and bring them to their fitting, final, and just completion, or so the Bible tells me.

There is a beautiful memorial to those brave heroes in Angel Fire, New Mexico, in the tranquil mountains east of Taos. If anyone can, please go, remember, weep, and ask forgiveness. It's the right thing to do. www.angelfirememorial.com

Thank you again for your post. And most importantly, to our Vietnam veterans, Welcome Home.