Modesto-area Vietnam veterans thanked for their sacrifice, forgiveness

In a 50th anniversary commemoration of the Vietnam War, nearly 500 veterans of that conflict received pins, challenge coins and belated messages of “Thank you” and “Welcome home.”

The event Tuesday afternoon at John Thurman Field began with the veterans parading into the ballfield to a reception of cheers, whistles and signs that read “We honor you,” “We support our troops” and more.

Because the host organization, the Modesto Vet Center, spread the word to invite Vietnam vets, many knew what was in store: a flyover, remarks from local dignitaries and the ceremony in which veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan fastened lapel pins on older veterans.

Others were surprised. Navy veteran Charles Abrahamson, who served on a tanker ship from 1963-67, said, “My road captain called and said to meet at the clubhouse. That was about it.” If he’d known what was in store, Abrahamson said, he’d have worn one of his vests with medals and “a million buttons” on it.

The messages that went out to the assembled Vietnam vets were of thanks and of regret for the way the nation treated so many of them upon their return from the controversial war. “Of all the veterans, you were the most forgotten and blamed for what was going on,” Modesto police Chief Galen Carroll told the crowd. Because of the shameful way the country received its returning soldiers, veterans of conflicts since then have been rightfully remembered and honored, he said.

Mayor Ted Brandvold, whose father served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, said he remembers tearful farewells as his dad would leave for tours of duty. He said the homecoming Vietnam vets received was, at best, cold. “You had to return home discreetly, in your street clothes, because of the attitude at the time,” he said. Fifty-eight thousand men and women gave their lives in the war, Brandvold said. “Considering their sacrifices, they deserved better. … To each one of you, and my father, welcome home.”

The keynote speaker at the commemoration was U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, who served 16 years in the Air Force and was in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Restore Hope, in Iraq and Somalia, respectively. He recognized that many young Americans did not choose to be part of the conflict in Vietnam, but when called stepped forward and “wore the cloth of this great nation.”

“You fought two wars – one in the jungle abroad and then coming home to a group of people that were ungrateful. Because of you, that will never happen again,” he said to strong applause.

From the scars of napalm to post-traumatic stress disorder to the lasting effects of Agent Orange, the wounds of Vietnam veterans are different from those of other wars, the congressman noted. “We must build the French Camp megaclinic immediately. Veterans should not have to drive to Palo Alto or other faraway places just to be seen by other veterans … who understand the battles of war and the pains and injuries that have ensued afterward.”

Denham closed by thanking Vietnam veterans for their service and sacrifice and for forgiving a nation that treated them poorly upon their return. “The Vietnam veteran is as much a soldier, friend, son, brother, husband and hero as anyone else who will ever wear the uniform of this country,” he said. “There was no other war at any other time in the history of man where a country placed young men in a place to die for their country while being chastised by those who misunderstood the nature of sacrifice and service.”

Modesto resident Thomas Keese, who served in the Army 173rd Airborne, said he learned to forgive so he could heal. He was in Vietnam for a year, starting in April 1966. He was based at Camp Ray about 30 miles from Saigon, said Keese, who choked up as he talked about his faith in the Lord being the only thing that kept him going for many years.

Returning home, “I had a lot wrong with me, dysentery and stuff,” and was treated poorly at a Veterans Affairs hospital, he said. “They kicked me out, said there was nothing wrong with me. A lot of guys would never get over that, said they’d never go to a VA hospital again.”

“I could feel stuff inside my body,” he added. Whatever was happening to him, it magnified any other ailments. “Something like an earache would get 10 times worse.”

It took 15 to 20 years for his health problems to subside, Keese said. “Later on, they were trying to figure out all the problems Agent Orange was causing, like cancers. I don’t think they still really know.”

Air Force veteran Steve Loya, who served in 1966-67 at a secret base in Thailand, said he’s still working on forgiveness. “Betrayal, anger is what I felt,” he said of returning home from the war. “As soon as I came off the airport in San Francisco, backs were turned to me instead of ‘Welcome home’ or ‘Thank you.’ I still remember that feeling today of ‘Where’s everybody at? Shouldn’t there be somebody to welcome us all home?’ … I’m glad for the belated thanks, but it’s not gonna take away for me the treatment I got coming home.”

Loya, who lost friends in the war and has suffered PTSD, said he’s still in the process of healing. The anger and resentment are deep, he said, like ruts left by wheels in mud that has hardened. He said he’s hoping for rain to come down and help smooth them out.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Modesto-area Vietnam veterans thanked for their sacrifice, forgiveness."