Vietnam vets receive their welcome home

EASTON, Md. – The Vietnam war ended for the U.S. on March 29, 1973, and Saturday some Vietnam veterans in Easton got a long overdue thank you.

Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, the first of its kind on the eastern shore, honoring the heroes who served their nation valiantly in Vietnam, 46 years after U.S. troops final withdrawal.

These veterans, now in their 60s or older, remember returning home to a hostile country without the heroes welcome given to returning veterans of past wars.

“We literally couldn’t wear uniforms. Had to be careful where we went in uniform,” said Maj. Lee Young, who served in Vietnam in 1996-67 as a member of the 173rd Airborne.

“We have veterans that were told get out of your uniform, don’t mention that you’re in the service until you’re home in your hometown,” said SPC Kenley Timms in the 1st Logistical Command from 1969-70.

But now, after four-plus decades, veterans from Vietnam are finally getting the respect they’ve long deserved.

During the emotional two-hour congregation, tears were shed, and connections were made.

“Over the past decades I’ve seen a great transformation. One of the things that’s very nice, we see kids, maybe eight, ten, twelve years old walking up to us wearing a baseball cap and say ‘thank you for your service.’ And that is such a change from when we came back,” said Young.

Events like these help Veterans open up about what took place, during years in Vietnam that many have bottled up, keeping it all a secret from even their significant others.

This event was put together by eastern shore hospice organizations, offering hospice-trained grief counselors to veterans and their families.