Raise your hand if you know the importance of March 29. Look around you at the raised hands. Almost all of the people with their hands raised are wearing Vietnam veteran hats. Using your reasoning skills, you’ve determined that March 29 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
If you’re reading this commentary on March 26 before 1 p.m., or 13:00 hours, drive to Mills Park for an event remembering 151 men and women who died in the Vietnam War. This remembrance is sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Association, Carson City Chapter 989.
“For many veterans, this day of honor and gratitude is understandably decades overdue. Yet on this day, the nation looks inward to honor a generation of veterans whose homecoming never was. It is an opportunity for many to receive a proper commendation and recognition of their actions carried out far from United States soil. To all who served during the Vietnam War: WELCOME HOME, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICES MADE WHILE IN THE UNIFORM OF THE UNITED STATES.” (Written by Brandon Black)
In March 2017, both houses of the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act. March 29 was designated as a national day of remembrance and honor to all who served during the Vietnam War.
Every Vietnam Veterans’ Day is a day for each of us to thank Vietnam vets. Walk up to a vet wearing a “Vietnam Vet” hat, extend your hand, look him or her in the eye, smile and say, “Thank you for your service and all your sacrifices. Welcome Home!” If you’re a female, give the vet a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Believe me the older the vet, the more you’ll, “Make his Day!” Now that’s a great story for him to share with the guys at the barbershop.
Having been a Coast Guard brat from 1941 to 1956, my father retired as a Chief Warrant Officer-2 in 1956. Sixty years later, I volunteered to be on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Honor Flight Nevada flies veterans to Washington, D.C. for free. The volunteers have to pay for their trip to push a vet in a wheelchair to a number of memorials.
Our Southwest Airlines flight lifted off from Reno/Tahoe International Airport at Zero Dark Thirty on Friday and flew into Baltimore Washington International Airport late in the afternoon local time on Sept. 9, 2016. The Baltimore Fire Department had two pumper fire trucks, one on each side of our 737-800 spraying water over our plane to welcome the vets before our plane stopped at our gate.
Saturday morning was shower, shave, get dressed, eat breakfast and enter the bus. That may sound easy to you, but we had to store 18 wheelchairs in a compartment under the passengers in the bus after helping those vets on the bus.
Have you ever wondered why the actor, Gary Alan Sinise, has been the voiceover in a number of movies or television shows about the military including the Vietnam War or the vets who served in ‘Nam?
The movie, Forrest Gump, was released in movie theaters across the country on July 6, 1994. Sinise played the part of Lt. Dan Taylor, Forrest Gump’s commanding officer in Vietnam. It was his first movie starring with Tom Hanks. Apollo 13 was released on June 30, 1995, his second movie with Hanks. Gary’s character was Ken Mattingly. The Green Mile was released on Dec. 10, 1999, their third movie together. Gary’s character was Burt Hammersmith.
In 2007 Gary received the Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment. If you’re too young to know Bob Hope, he was a comedian who made a number of comedy movies, many with the singer, Bing Crosby.
Bob’s best work was his USO Tours entertaining our troops on a cleared jungle area in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on the flight deck of an Essex class aircraft carrier or an opened field that was a battlefield a couple of days ago. Jerry Colona and Martha Raye were usually members of Bob’s troupe. Bob always had a female singer, an actress or two with tight clothing. They were eye candy for all the GIs or sailors in the audience who hadn’t seen an American woman in months. His USO Tours entertained our servicemen and women during World War II, the Korean “police” action, and Vietnam, over a span of 30-plus years.
When Sinise was selected to play the part of Lt. Dan Taylor he didn’t have a clue that he was in for a life changing experience, improving the lives of our wounded warriors and first responders.
“The Gary Sinise Foundation Avalon Network is a nationwide cognitive health and mental wellness network providing transformative care to veterans and first responders experiencing post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries, and substance abuse.” His foundation has been fulfilling its mission since 2011, 11 years doing good deeds and going strong.
Gary’s connection to our veterans is personal. Arthur and Mac Harris are his brothers-in-law. Arthur flew a helicopter for more than 800 combat hours in ‘Nam with the 229th Assault Battalion, First Cavalry Division in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. Mac graduated from West Point in 1966 to serve two tours in ‘Nam. He was awarded the Silver Star.
Gary’s wife, Moira Jane Harris Sinise, sister’s husband is Jack Treese. He was a 19-year-old combat medic in the Second Battalion of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, the All-American Division. Jack was in combat for 245 days. When he returned in uniform to San Francisco Airport in 1968 he received a horrible negative experience from “anti-war protestors.”
So, what are you going to do on March 29? Get out of your residence and go to a business that has a lot of foot traffic to see how many Vietnam vets you can personally thank for their service. Another choice would be to drive to Fernley and visit the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery and place a flower at the grave of some Vietnam vets at their grave site. “If you ask a vet if he was a hero, he’ll respond, ‘All the heroes are buried in cemeteries.’”
