SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2018
5 A
Special feature
Fly your flag for Vietnam War veterans Thursday
I
n 2017, Congress passed a
law to permanently desig-
nate March 29 as Vietnam
War Veterans Day.
The law, known as the
Vietnam War Veterans
Recognition Act of 2017,
encourages the display of the
United States Flag on March
29th in honor of our Vietnam
War Veterans.
Here are a few reasons why
we should fly our flags tomor-
row:
Fifty years ago, the United
States military and its allies
were responding to the
advances of the North
Vietnamese Army and the Viet
Cong. This is known as the
Tet Offensive, which lasted 30
days. This was a campaign of
surprise attacks against mili-
tary and civilian command-
and-control centers throughout
South Vietnam.
There were two additional
offensives by the North
Vietnamese in 1968 that ulti-
mately made it the bloodiest
year of the Vietnam era. There
were more war casualties that
year than in any other.
The era of the Vietnam War
was a tumultuous period that
lasted 20 years and spanned a
total of three decades. It has
been established that the start
of the Vietnam War was Nov.
1, 1955, and the official end
was April 30, 1975.
(Some are showing the end
to be May 15, 1975.)
Almost 3 million United
States Military personnel
served in Vietnam over time.
GUEST EDITORIAL
B Y S TAVE B ATES
L IFE M EMBER
A SSOCIATES OF THE V IETNAM V ETERANS OF A MERICA
Millions more served in other
locations during that 20-year
span.
Over 58,000 died in
Vietnam.
More than 700 Oregonians
were among the Vietnam
Killed In Action.
Four Oregon families each
lost two sons in Vietnam; a
total of 39 families nationwide
experienced such a loss.
In addition, 1,600 American
military personnel are still
unaccounted for and officially
remain Missing In Action in
Southeast Asia.
Most of the Vietnam sol-
diers who came back to the
United States were never wel-
comed home. Many uni-
formed veterans were spit
upon, ridiculed and attacked
for honoring the call of their
nation.
Today, there are Vietnam
War Veterans suffering from
maladies due to exposures to
infecting sources such as
Agent Orange. Many who
were awarded a Purple Heart
are still experiencing compli-
cations attributed to their battle
wounds.
In addition to flying our
flags on March 29, we, as
Oregonians, should honor our
Vietnam War veterans with a
mandate of support for a
Vietnam War Memorial on the
Oregon State Capitol Grounds.
Such a memorial would
honor those who served during
the Vietnam Era regardless of
their location of service, hon-
oring all who served in
Vietnam. Furthermore, this
memorial would remember
those who gave their life, for-
feiting their American Dream
so that we could live ours.
Vietnam War veterans have
endured a great deal of contro-
versy, heartache and physical
discomfort for varying reasons.
A memorial to honor their
service on the Oregon State
Capitol Grounds would be a
way of finlly acknowledging
their sacrifice and saying
“Welcome Home,” albeit near-
ly 50 years later.
A memorial would also
enable our state residents to
better understand the struggles
of our Vietnam War veterans
and be an educational tool.
Let us honor and memorial-
ize our Vietnam War Veterans
for generations to come.
Steve Bates serves as Chair
of the Committee on
Memorials and Remembrance
and is president of the Vietnam
War Memorial Fund.
For more information, visit
www.VietnamWarMemorial
Fund.org.
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Local veterans from the Vietnam War are part of a group of vets from World War II, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan that meet Monday mornings at the Florence Elks Club to dis-
cuss events sponsored by local VFW and American Legion Posts. The group, known as the Band of Brothers, contributes time and donations to local schools and charities.
Vietnam
from 1A
Unfortunately, Vietnam veterans
received mixed support for their
service upon returning home from
the conflict that took the lives of
more than 58,000 American service
members.
The unpopularity of the war,
opposed by many on the grounds
that it was undeclared and appeared
to unfairly draft citizens from minor-
ity communities and men from
lower income families, changed the
way in which the service of draftees
and volunteers was perceived and
acknowledged.
Florence-area resident Wally
Schultz remembers returning from
his tour to an almost hateful recep-
tion.
“I will make it short and sweet,”
he said, ruefully. “When I got home,
I was spit on and now people are
buying me my lunch and dinner. The
feedback I get now is very positive.
People come up to me on the street
and say ‘Thank you for your serv-
ice.’ These are strangers, people I
have never met, and they are thank-
ing me for something I did 50 years
ago. It is a really good feeling.”
Many Vietnam veterans agree that
the treatment they receive now is
invariably positive and supportive.
Patrick La Nasa served in both
Korea and Vietnam and says the atti-
tudes he faced upon his return are
considerably different from the com-
ments and support he receives these
days
“There is a 110 percent difference
from then to now. I was living in
California and when I came back
from Vietnam, it was like a minia-
ture social revolution was going on
and we were ‘the bad guys,’” La
Nasa said. “Now it is a totally differ-
ent country almost — and I’m talk-
ing about the attitude towards veter-
ans from the Vietnam era. These
days, strangers thank us for our serv-
ice and offer to buy us a drink or a
meal. It’s a major change.”
La Nasa is also planning a trip to
Washington, D.C., later this summer,
as a participant in an “Honor Flight”
trip. He will be making the flight
with his son.
“I’m getting ready to go on and
Honor Flight. I spent 20 years in the
corps, from ’52 to ’72. The sequence
for going on these flights is World
War II-era veterans, whether you
served overseas or not, and then
Korea and then Vietnam. But there is
a two-year wait for Vietnam-era
vets. I served in both eras, so I am
going as Korea Vet.”