Tomorrow is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. I didn’t know there was such a day until I received an e-mail alert. Interesting to me because I recently had a strong emotional response to Vietnam. This year marks fifty years since the last US troops left South Vietnam. US direct combat involvement ended. There was an understanding at the time of the peace agreement that US power (Probably B-52s) would be used if North Vietnam re-invaded. Being communists, that of course is exactly what North Vietnam did in 1975. Without congressional fortitude the US did not react to stop the invasion. Papa senses a source of irony when one wobbler from those days now claims unity for “as long as it takes’ in support of Ukraine. Not a confidence builder in my mind.
Elsewhere I’ve written about coming home from Vietnam and passing through San Francisco airport. Not a cheerful place for a person in military uniform. Thereafter, memories of a year away just faded and melded into life. With one exception. I recall leaving a real estate transaction on a hot summer day in the 1980’s. A realtor said he hadn’t felt such heat since Vietnam. He was a client and friend from high school. I didn’t know he’d been to Vietnam. Nor, did he know my background. He said he never talked about it because of how negative people were towards Vietnam veterans. I couldn’t disagree with his experience. US public attitudes on Vietnam began to feel a bit more positive after the Gulf War and 9/11. I started to receive “thank you for your service” comments.
However, the phrase often felt a tad rote. But, one day two words jolted me to the core. I was surprised at my reaction after more than fifty years. Tears nearly welled up. I was seeing my most recent (sixth) internist since moving west. She had been a doctor with the military. I think she knew what words I had been waiting to hear since that New Year’s Day so long ago. Discovering that I was a Vietnam veteran (Agent Orange issue.) she looked me square in the eye and sincerly said, “Welcome home.”