On 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War ending, a reminder: Veterans deserve our gratitude
Americans will commemorate on Wednesday 50 years since U.S. combat troops left Vietnam.
Vietnam War veterans represented nearly 10% of their generation, with nearly 50,000 Tennesseans answering the call to serve.
Those who were returning from tours of combat duty and those who served stateside were vilified by protesters and draft dodgers who fled to Canada. In a word, it was ugly for those who served when they arrived home.
Our objective in Vietnam was to stop the spread of communism. It began with "advisers" as early as the mid-1950s under President Dwight Eisenhower. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon each escalated the war, which finally ended under President Gerald Ford in 1975.
The cost of the war was staggering. From 1961 to 1973, Vietnamese communists imprisoned hundreds of Americans. Almost all of them were pilots, navigators, weapons systems operators and aircrew who were shot down. Tortured in captivity, many died. Others were freed and returned home to an America that didn’t seem to care.
Defending freedom against communism
During the war, more than 58,000 of America’s best and brightest died fighting to prevent the spread of communism and for the freedom of South Vietnamese citizens they did not know.
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Tennesseans lived up to our Volunteer State motto with nearly 1,300 of our young soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen dying in the jungles of Vietnam or in hospitals overseas or here at home. Fighting in Laos and Cambodia also added to our death toll.
Many of our service members also were wounded in the war. It is estimated that more than 350,000 military personnel received the Purple Heart. By contrast, just more than 35,0000 Purple Hearts were awarded to valiant Iraq War troops.
Many suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Some haven’t fully recovered to this day. Ground forces were drenched by a defoliant now well known as Agent Orange. Developed to defoliate the jungle, it would cause lifelong health problems for those it was dumped on by our own aircraft. Only in recent years have veterans been receiving care for that exposure.
Remember those who served
During the Reagan administration, a national memorial was designed, built and dedicated on our National Mall. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a lasting monument to all who served, with the names of more than 58,000 of our fellow Americans who gave their lives in the war inscribed on its black granite walls. It’s both a gathering place for those who lost loved ones and a place of reflection.
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Towns, cities, counties and states also built memorials to those who served and those who gave their full measure of devotion. Tennessee has its share of these memorials, too.
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Today, America commemorates those who served during the Vietnam War. Those who answered the draft or those who enlisted voluntarily are thanked again. We remember the loved and the lost. We remember the families that lost loved ones far too soon.
Tennesseans and the nation have another opportunity to thank our Vietnam War veterans. If you never thanked one, please do. It is reported we are seeing 500 of them die each and every day. Perhaps you’ll remember those lost or struggling to readjust in your thoughts and prayers.
These brave men and women who served did not start the war; elected officials did. These men and women simply did their duty. They are the embodiment of those hallowed words: "Duty, Honor, County."
Thomas Salas Freeman is a veteran of the Air Force, National Guard and State Guard. He is a co-founder of Honor Our Veterans, a privately funded military and veterans advocacy organization. This column first published in the Nashville Tennessean.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: If you haven't thanked a Vietnam War veteran, it's 50 years overdue
