Vietnam veterans honored at ceremony in Carson City
Nevada Vietnam War veterans were honored Saturday in Carson City as dozens gathered in Mills Park to observe the Vietnam Veterans Day of Remembrance and hold a welcome home ceremony at the Nevada Vietnam War Memorial.
Frank Reynolds, current president of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) local chapter 388 in Carson City, opened the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance and the chapter’s chaplain delivered the invocation.
He then read a proclamation signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval, declaring March 29, 2016 — the 43rd anniversary of the military withdrawal from Southeast Asia — as Nevada’s Vietnam War Remembrance Day.
There was also a long moment of remembrance for the Vietnam War brethren who did not make it home, or who have passed on. Hats were removed, and veterans held their salutes as a military bag-piper played “Amazing Grace.”
Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell, a U.S. Navy and Vietnam War veteran, delivered the ceremony’s keynote remarks, making special note of brethren who have passed on without receiving the recognition that those veterans in attendance Saturday did.
"As each year passes, our ranks become fewer but our memories and scars, both physical and mental, never fade away," he addressed the crowd. "It is painful to think that the men and women whose names are carved into the memorial wall fought and died without ever receiving the recognition and appreciation of their country."
VVA Chapter 388 Vice-President Tom Spencer said two-thirds of Vietnam War veterans have now passed on, leaving only about one-third left to tell their stories.
America's first casualty in Vietnam occurred in June 1956, Crowell said citing the National Archives. The U.S. withdrew from Vietnam in March 1973, having lost more than 58,000 lives and missing over 1,600 in action, he said.
Crowell referenced the 151 casualties from Nevada, including seven from Carson City. All of their names are inscribed on the Nevada Vietnam War Memorial at Mills Park.
For many Vietnam War veterans attending Saturday afternoon’s remembrance ceremony, the recognition was somewhat bittersweet, coming about 40 or more years late.
“At least we got recognized for a change,” said U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Carson City resident Steven Moravec, who served two tours in Vietnam from 1961 to 1963. “I’ve supported all of my comrades I lost, but it took 50 years to get recognized.”
Mayor Crowell was sympathetic to the feelings of many of his fellow war veterans.
"I know I need not remind you of the ridicule we endured, the names we were called, or the looks of scorn as we passed by," Crowell said. "I know that many of you here today, veterans, families of veterans, and friends felt and still feel the sting of those days."
Reynolds agreed, but maintained the perspective that times have also changed for the better for veterans, including those who survived Vietnam.
“Those times in Vietnam were tough, but we got through it,” said the former U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant and Vietnam War veteran. “It's finally an appreciation. When I finally get a thank you from people I’ve never met before, it means the world. I’m at peace now.”
One important change in recent years that has helped Vietnam veterans is the introduction of Honor Flight Nevada, a non-profit fundraiser that helps war veterans travel to Washington, D.C., so they can visit, in person, the memorials and monuments that have been erected in honor of their service.
"If you know a fellow veteran who is in need, talk to Honor Flight about reserving a space for him or her," he said.
Crowell called Honor Flight Nevada "a most wonderful project that goes a long way...towards providing the recognition and proper tribute to Vietnam Veterans -- a project that brings veterans together, provides a safe place for the sharing of our private thoughts and which for many of us provides for our individual healing on many levels."
Moravec said he was on the last Honor Flight this past November, and he was very pleased to have visited the original Vietnam War Memorial Wall on the National Mall.
Spencer said he flew on the second Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., and he was in awe visiting the war memorials there.
Saturday’s remembrance ceremony was heart-warming to Spencer, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, not for himself as much as for Vietnam War veterans as a whole.
“It's our own welcome,” he said. “It is a remembrance of all our brothers and sisters who didn’t make it home.”
Gary Windisch of Carson City, a U.S. Navy veteran who served three tours in Vietnam from 1962 to 1966, said he was touched by the remembrance and welcome home ceremony.
“It's very touching,” said Windisch, who noted a close friend, a U.S. Air Force pilot shot down in his F-11 jet, still remains missing in action. “It's a good feeling. I think we get a lot of support.”
Crowell wrapped up his remarks by reminding fellow Vietnam War veterans that while pain from the past still exists, the past is also history now.
"The sting of past scorn is gone," he said. "You are appreciated. You are special."
United States involvement in Southeast Asia — and Vietnam, in particular — lasted nearly twenty years, from the late 1950s until 1975 when the last American civilians were airlifted out of Saigon in April 1975.
According to the Public Broadcasting System web site, America's direct full-scale military involvement in the war lasted more than eight years, from Aug. 1964 — when Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorized President Johnson to use whatever means necessary to defend Southeast Asia against North Vietnam — to March 1973, when American military forces withdrew from the region as part of a cease-fire agreement signed in January of the same year.
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