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Thank you my friend CSM Charles Hayden for posting.


Vietnam POW Homecoming Anniversary
Participants spoke at the opening ceremony of a 40th anniversary reunion for former Vietnam prisoners of war (POW). The event included a wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of President Nixon.

On May 24, 1973, President Nixon held a White House dinner to welcome prisoners of war home from Vietnam. From May 23-25, 2013, the Richard Nixon Foundation hosted a 40th anniversary reunion for the former POWs at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?312751-1/vietnam-pow-homecoming-anniversary

Fyi SSG Franklin Briant SSG Samuel Kermon SP5 Jeannie Carle SP5 Dennis Loberger Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. CSM Chuck Stafford SFC Chuck Martinez MSG Andrew White SMSgt Lawrence McCarter

I made a vow last night to stop cussing so much. I am not setting a good effing example.

Apparently I could not see the video from my iPhone as I lay in bed. Now I have seen it. It elicits emotions like pride, sadness, humility, and other thoughts. I enjoy writing; hence I will write. I am like Ernest Hemingway but a lot less talented.

I take comfort the POWs survived an immeasurably violent environment. I feel sadness for what they had potentially lost in their personal lives should it be mental stability, dreams, or their families. War creates hurt in many ways. I am quite humbled by what they experienced and can't fathom the suffering. What would I have done their shoes? I don’t know and that bothers me. I have no words to describe how humble I am in regards to what they experienced.

Every veteran who experienced the tragic lows of war will muse about thought provoking events. It will be deep and wide. The poignant reflections will often make their contemplations unique as they drill down to the basic core of powerful experiences. They have their own spin, and some topics are more of value. They are like authors of books. Each person will write things in their own way as they diverge with others. However, the general overarching themes of the books will be similar. The experiences converge in a way. Some want an empty book to wipe the blight of war away.

I was invited to two Vietnam reunions with a 101st Infantry Battalion that sustained heavy casualties in Vietnam. Mnemonic is the art and process of remembering. Some of the basic principles are if the event is extremely traumatic, sad, delightful, or embarrassing; it will be remembered. The two Vietnam reunions I attended were no exceptions.

There was electricity and energy in the air at the banquets. I could cut through it with a knife. I could feel it. I could sense it. Old buddies reconnected as they discussed the fond memories and the sad ones as well. It was as if each and every one had held back their emotions, and at the banquets, the dam broke and emotions ran wild and free. They smiled and laughed, and they cried with each other. For two nights they went back into time together and got lost in the moment. When I saw their watery eyes, and tears falling down their cheeks freely; I knew I was witnessing something remarkable. I saw men who did not hesitate to open their hearts to expose their souls. Crying was allowed at the banquet. I will always have spot in my heart for Vietnam Veterans. How I wished I had to power to take all their hurt away from them.

Watched it from Germany.