MERIDIAN, Idaho — Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day is March 29, this year it happened 50 years after the Vietnam War ended.
The Idaho Division of Veterans Services put together a celebration to bring the Vietnam veterans together, thank them for their service and welcome them home.
"It means a lot to them, and I can’t thank them enough for their service," said Mitzi Cheledin, one of the organizers. "They didn't get a true welcome home, they were told not to wear their uniforms in the airport and they had it rough."
The Vietnam War was the center of controversy in America during the 1960s-1970s. Anti-war protests pushed back against the conflict and the veterans were often treated poorly once they returned home. It made Paul Sherman question his time in Vietnam.
"Even though it was disturbing and hard to deal with I feel like we had the ability to make the changes necessary to show our country that being angry at the warrior is the wrong place to spend your energy," said veteran Paul Sherman.
Every Vietnam veteran has a different story. Paul Sherman specialized in cryptology and communications in the U.S. Army.
"I was supposed to go to a division headquarters and that got changed to an infantry unit," said Sherman. "I became a radio operator and then a relay station operator, we were stationed at the base of a mountain and we put a radio relay station on top of the mountain to keep communications open."
Vietnam vets fought a difficult war in the jungle of southeast Asia. It's the fourth deadliest conflict in American history costing 58,209 lives, injured 340,000 soldiers and 1,584 are still missing, including seven Idahoans.
Some soldiers also didn't have a choice, as a total of 2.2 million people were drafted into the military. Many more signed up to fight so they would have more control over what branch of the military they would be in.
"I've always believed that we came at the right time because we are a strong group of people. We learned great principles growing up from our parents," said Sherman.
After the war, Sherman joined the Vietnam Veterans of America. They adopted a motto that never again will another generation of veterans abandon one another.
The Vietnam vets changed how the country looks at the military. They made it acceptable to be against a war, but not the soldiers fighting in it.
"Expend your energy changing the government because that is where wars come from," said Sherman. "Wars shouldn't have to take place, but they do, and when they do you have to have someone answer the bell."
The Vietnam vets made my experience in the military much better. People in Bangor, Maine greeted us at the airport when we returned from Iraq, and we had a welcome home ceremony where the crowd gave us a standing ovation when we ran the American flag across the field at an Arizona Cardinals football game.
So on National Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day we celebrate all the Vietnam vets have accomplished in combat and after the war, even if it has taken some of them a long time to be proud of their service.
"Well it took me about 50 years to get there, but yes," said Sherman.
The celebration was going to be outside at Kleiner Park, but the weather forced the event inside at the Meridian Senior Center.
It might not have been as ideal, but the veterans still got to mingle with each other and enjoy some hot dogs on a rainy day in Idaho.
