By VICKI BROWN
After almost 50 years, Vietnam Veterans received a happy “Welcome Home” in Colleton County.
Several joint agencies - the Colleton’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 12102, Veterans Affairs, the American Legion Post 93, the Elks Lodge No. 1988, DAV 55 Strickland Chapter and Amedisys Hospice - hosted a party for Vietnam Veterans on Tuesday, March 29 at the American Legion Post in Walterboro.
The event was coordinated by the Vietnam Veterans Day committee and its members, John Wallace, Mike Kuszmaul and Bob Tiegs.
“The Welcome Home celebration was wonderful. It was great to see the local Veterans Service Organizations and others come together to celebrate and honor our Veterans who served in Vietnam,” said Janet D. Smith, Veterans Affairs Officer. We can never repay our Veterans for what they endured in Vietnam and how poorly they were treated when they returned home. We can, however, choose to extend our gratitude for their sacrifice and give them the dignity and respect that they deserve.”
For three hours, from 12:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., veterans were served lunch, listened to Vietnam era music and enjoyed camaraderie. Some veterans came from St. George to participate in the event, as a new flagpole was also dedicated as part of the day’s celebration.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is a U.S. holiday observed annually on March 29. It honors all United States veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. armed forces from Nov. 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975. On March 28, 2017, former President Trump signed the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017.
Close to 100 people came out to watch the flags raised and to render honor to our many local veterans.
A short program opened the festivities with Walterboro Mayor Bill Young in attendance, as well as Al Jenkins from Senator Tim Scott’s office and other dignitaries.
The Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle club dedicated to honoring veterans, participated in the new flagpole dedication by raising the flag of the United States, and the POW/MIA flag on the new pole.
The Vietnam Veterans flag was flown on the older pole.
The Vietnam Veterans flag was designed to honor and remember the sacrifices made by U.S military men during the war in Vietnam. The flag features a yellow background with seventeen brown stars on the left side of the flag. The stars are arranged in three vertical lines.
“When I came home, it started the moment we got off the airplane,” said veteran James Walker. “We were spit on, called baby killers, and people actually tried to fight us in the airport.”
Commander of the Walterboro VFW Post 12102, Marc Jacob, said, “This has been a great day, meeting other vets. I was in the Navy on a guided missile destroyer off the coast of Vietnam during the evacuation. We picked up military people, South Vietnamese who had helped the U.S. and some refugees,” said Jacob. “Today has been awesome. It has been great to get together with other veterans.”
The event was sponsored by Old House Cafe, Dukes BBQ, Amedisys, Dunkin Donuts, Ms. Della from H&D, Zaxby’s, Herman Hoffman and Edward Culpepper from Walterboro’s United Methodist Church, Cheryl Clayton of the Eastern Star.
