They were soldiers once, young, kids really, slogging through a dense jungle, fighting an enemy they could barely see, suffering and dying in each other’s arms. Many who survived the bloody hell of Vietnam came home bearing emotional scars that have never healed. And for what? To protect the pride of some in Washington desperate to save face over a belief that Vietnam was just and winnable.
More than 2 million Americans served in the war, more than 58,000 died along with 3 million Vietnamese fighters and civilians. Of the Americans who died, more than sixty percent were 21 or younger. Today, on Vietnam Veterans Day, we honor them and their sacrifices.
On this day in 1973, the last American combat troops left the country and all American prisoners held in North Vietnam were freed. In 2012, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 29 Vietnam Veterans Day.
It doesn’t seem so long ago, but it was. The youngest soldiers from Vietnam are now in their sixties. But memories are still vivid. For some soldiers, the battle didn’t end when they returned home; anti-war demonstrators spat on them, attacked them and called them “baby killers.”
Vietnam Veterans Day is a time to remember those who served. We also pay tribute to veterans who have chronicled their experiences. These include Karl Marlantes, who wrote Matterhorn and What It’s Like To Go To War. He gave up his Rhodes Scholarship to serve, not to fight Communism, but to help bring his fellow Marines out alive.
Then there’s the poet John Musgrave, who after nearly dying in a skirmish with the North Vietnamese Army, came home with a crippling case of PTSD. He began to write “combat poetry” to cope with his depression, publishing Notes To The Man Who Shot Me in 2003. If you want to learn more about the war, we suggest you read these.
Also, on this day of remembrance, take a moment to honor those brave souls. If you know a veteran, shake their hand, make them feel like the heroes they are. To all Vietnam vets, thank you for your service. You are our champions.
