Honoring Vietnam veterans
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on March 30, 2017 7:14 AM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
A ceremonial flag folding during the celebration of Vietnam veterans at the Walnut Street veterans memorial Wednesday.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Master Sgt. Ben Ackerman, president of the Wayne County veterans and patriot coalition, speaks to an audience of Vietnam veterans and family members at the Walnut Street veterans memorial Wednesday during a celebration commemorating National Vietnam Vets Day.
Branches of the military united at the Veterans Memorial Park Wednesday to honor soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War.
Nearly 30 veterans wearing berets and pins that represented the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force celebrated National Vietnam Veterans Day and remembered the harshness Vietnam soldiers received upon their return home.
Vic Miller serves as publicity director of the Wayne County Veterans and Patriots Coalition and a retiree of the United States Marine Corps and served in the Gulf War. Miller said veterans have gathered at the memorial, located at 290 E. Walnut St., for the past four years in honor of Vietnam War soldiers.
"We came home (from the Gulf War) to parades , people welcoming us home," he said. "The feeling I have of overwhelming love and patriotism that I felt, I can't help but think that my brothers from previous generations never felt that."
The Vietnam War lasted from Nov. 1, 1955, until April 30, 1975, in South and North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. During those 20 years, more than 60,000 American soldiers died and more than 150,000 were wounded.
Many of the surviving soldiers returned home to challenging receptions.
"How do you think my brothers felt when they were yelled at, spit at and called names?" Miller asked.
"A lot of them volunteered to do it. A lot of them thought they were doing the right thing."
He said people need to understand that wars bring death, but the men who fight in wars enter a certain country to do good.
Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Jim Brewer, also a member of the veterans coalition, fought in the Vietnam War in 1972. As a jet engine mechanic, Brewer said the base he was stationed at in New Mexico welcomed him when he returned. One year later, while wearing his uniform when walking in Baltimore, someone threw a rock at his back, he said.
Brewer arrived at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in 1983 and retired six years later. He said the people of Goldsboro have been passionate and supportive.
"The Goldsboro folks have always been great," he said.
At a time when crowds were spitting on and yelling at returning Vietnam soldiers in 1970, one woman took it upon herself to protect her husband.
An engineer company commander, Army Capt. Earl Tyndall arrived in Washington, D.C., after serving in the Vietnam War over a span of four years. He stepped off the plane and was welcomed with a long kiss from his wife, Rosalyn Tyndall.
"We were spit on when I came back, and we never got any recognition," he said. "My wife gave me a hug and a kiss."
Tyndall said his wife passed away in 2013, but he thought of his wife's kiss as he watched the folding of the American Flag and listened to Air Force Master Sgt. Ben Ackerman thank the Vietnam veterans.
Ackerman, vice chair of the veterans coalition and a member of the 4th Contracting Squadron at Seymour Johnson, asked for the Vietnam veterans to stand. He then asked for visitors to applaud those Vietnam veterans who could not stand.
"As a current military member, I've been on deployments, and I come home and you have people welcoming me home," Ackerman said. "It's my duty as a military member to give that same type of attitude to those who came before me."
Some of the veterans crossed the street after the memorial to enjoy food at a reception at the Wayne County Museum, located at 116 N. William St.
Bill Graham, retired Navy Seabee and CEO of the veterans coalition, looked at each veteran and remembered those who were unable to attend.
Graham said the first year he saw over 100 veterans arrive at the memorial park. Over the years the numbers have dropped due to the death and poor health of veterans.
"Being a Vietnam veteran myself, it's a bond of brotherhood," he said. "I want to thank them for their service."