"A message to our Vietnam veterans"

[Entirely] BY PEGGY BAKKEN • SUN NEWSPAPERS
[ Published June 11, 2009 http://www.mnsun.com/ ]

Saturday, June 13, 2009, will be a special day in Minnesota. Thousands of veterans, their families and friends will gather at the Minnesota State Capitol to honor those who served during the Vietnam era. It’s being billed as Minnesota’s biggest Vietnam veteran event ever.

Those of us old enough to remember Vietnam still ache from the turmoil that ripped our nation into pieces. As a young teenager, news from Vietnam dominated our conversations, our music and our politics.

Weekly death tolls were routinely in the hundreds. Each night’s television newscast began with the number of soldiers killed that day. We were outraged. Hundreds, even thousands of our young men were dying in a jungle we did not know, in a war we did not understand. Our country was consumed by internal violence. Protesters were beaten and killed; cops were killed. Innocent bystanders died as riots erupted throughout the country.

January 1968 was the TET offensive. The Viet Cong launched a tremendous attack during the Vietnamese New Year. Over 500 American soldiers died that week alone. Our tiny farm towns in southern Minnesota lost three soldiers that week.

Among the dead was a neighbor — my best friend’s brother. I will never forget the image of the flag-draped coffin. At the cemetery, the flag was folded into the traditional triangle and handed to my best friend’s mother.

When my cousin came home from Vietnam in 1970, people would insult and mock him and his fellow veterans. He quickly learned to say nothing. It became common practice for our soldiers to remain silent about their service.

The anguish had led to a terrible, regrettable situation. We directed our anger over the war toward our returning soldiers.

When the killing and counting was done, nearly 58,000 American soldiers had died. Some 1,072 were from Minnesota. More than 300,000 soldiers had been injured. Some 2.5 million served in our Armed Forces. These individuals deserved our nation’s gratitude and admiration, but so many did not receive it.

Saturday, June 13, 2009, will be a special day in Minnesota. It is time to issue a long overdue greeting to every Vietnam-era veteran:

“Welcome home, and thank you.”

Peggy Bakken is the executive editor of Sun Newspapers. She welcomes readers’ comments on this topic and any other local issue at any time: pbakken@acnpapers.com, or 952-392-6822.