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Saluting our
Vietnam Veterans with words
By Melissa Martin
1965. President Johnson called for more ground troops to be sent to
Vietnam. I was a child in elementary school. When the Vietnam War
ended, I was 16 years-old. 1975.
Rewind to the 60’s and 70’s. I have vague recall of warfare events on
the evening news: the drafting of Elvis; the Kent State University
shootings; the burning of the Washington Monument by war protesters;
the outrage over Jane Fonda in a Vietcong military tank; the fall of
Saigon. My parents didn’t talk abut the war. My teachers didn’t talk
about the war. My friends and I did not talk about the war. Maybe the
war was thought to be too discordant to discuss. But, I think silence
is the enemy of controversy.
When President Nixon promised to end the war, a reawakening of hope
vigilantly danced over the heartland. But, my adolescent mind and heart
could not comprehend the shunning of America’s wounded sons when they
returned to the red, white, and blue soil of freedom.
Deer Hunter, The Killing Fields, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July;
horrors of war cannot be fully captured on movie screens. Jimi Hendrix,
Jim Morrison, Boonie Rat song, GI Joes and rock-n-roll; music cannot
fully capture the turbulence of war. Mangled minds, mangled bodies,
mangled souls; existing in VA hospitals.
The History Channel revealed what the history books concealed. Decades
traveled by until truth seeped then gushed out. History, you teach us
lessons, but we listen with closed ears. History books, we turn your
pages, and close you tightly. History, we cannot forget and we dare not
forget, lest the past be repeated and the suffering resurrected.
As a therapist, I have listened to horrific and gut-wrenching stories
of Vietnam combat veterans and provided treated for Post-traumatic
Stress Disorders (PTSD), survivor guilt; anxiety and mood disorders;
addictions; failed marriages; disowned beliefs in God, country, and
humanity. And I held firmly to my faith as the hatred of war permeated
my soul.
And finally, a piece of healing and reverence arrived for a broken
generation. The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall. An offering to our
soldiers, both dead and alive; those in heaven and on earth. It is more
than chiseled black stone—it is a gift to America’s unsung heroes. A
place where thousands of voices speak through engraved names. A
cemetery of sacrifice unveiled on November 13, 1982.
“When the soldiers came home from Vietnam, there were no parades, no
celebrations. So they built the Vietnam Memorial for themselves.”
–William Westmoreland
Several years ago, I observed something at a parade that I had not
witnessed before or since. Four raggedy men walked in a parade with a
sign, “Vietnam Vets.” My eyes misted at the sight. Vietnam Veterans in
a parade—a rare moment in time I shall not forget.
For the Vietnam Veterans, can a part of healing be found when your
country embraces you and bestows appreciation? Will you forgive
America? Will you please participate in our Fourth of July parades so
we may salute you?
And to the Vietnam Veterans of Ohio, I say, “Thank you for your
service.”
Melissa Martin, Ph.D, is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist.
She resides in Southern Ohio. www.melissamartinchildrensauthor.com.
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