03/30/2026
There is much on the schedule going forward, but today, there is something much more important.
March 29th is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. A day for them was earned with their blood, sweat, and tears on the battlefield and the disrespect they endured when they returned home.
A great man I served with made the point that we were lucky to have served with some of the last active-duty veterans from that war. I couldn't have agreed more, and said my one regret was not taking the time to talk to them more. At the time, I was an early twenties buck sergeant and appreciated them immensely, but just didn't take the time I wish I had.
Now I am in a position to meet many of our Vietnam veterans and hold a position where I can help them. I love talking to all of our veterans, but the Vietnam vets hold a special place with me. They were not honored as young warriors and had to wait decades to be noticed. They served as any other generation, and the ones lucky enough to return home left a part of themselves there.
To all of our Vietnam veterans, Welcome Home!
Vietnam Welcome Home
Welcome home, I heard him say,
Forty years removed from that day.
I stepped off that plane and turned in my gun,
My service over, my sacrifice done.
Nobody was there that cold winter night,
To welcome me home or share in my plight.
Service to country against enemies strong,
Conflict and war, deployments so long.
Not once did I waiver or see my brothers slip,
We busted our tails on that sharp spear’s tip.
We fought like hell while our country complained,
As our bodies were beaten and souls were drained.
We did just as much as generations before,
Our sacrifice was equal to any other war.
But our country did not agree, politicians did not stand,
As we shed our blood on worthless pieces of land.
Tet came and went and we wiped out their forces,
Eliminated their will to fight at its sources.
But the press it told stories made up in back rooms,
Swept away our victories with emotional brooms.
We won the battles every time and we stood strong,
Through a protracted war that lasted too long.
When finally it came time for our war to end,
It was the will of the haters that would never bend.
We were treated like garbage, called terrible names,
The pawns of some nefarious, political games.
It took decades for most to see how we really served,
Heads high with character and rarely unnerved.
Yes our service was noble, our mission was true,
We came and fought for the Red, White, and Blue.
We served our country and paid the cost,
Over 58,000 of our brothers and sisters were lost.
The Vietnam Veteran did exactly as asked,
We did not fail with what we were tasked.
So forty years later, long after that day,
“Welcome Home Brother”, I did hear him say…..
Curtis Hendel, 2017
