Waterville -
It's a moment that Maine's Vietnam veterans have waited a half century for, but Thursday night in Waterville it finally happened.
A few hundred Vietnam Veterans got a proper homecoming that should have come when they returned from the Vietnam War. Many of the veterans here remember all too well how they were treated when they returned home from war. "We were treated as almost like a non-citizen," said Vietnam Veteran George Ward.
Another veteran, Robert Locklin, vividly remembers his first homecoming from the war. "We got spit on and swore at. We were not liked too much. But that was the times back then," he said Thursday prior to the march. "In some cases we were ridiculed and called names and they were throwing trash at us rather than welcome home," Ward added.
Thanks to the folks at the Bureau of Veterans Services, and some of their fellow servicemen and women, on this day they march like heroes. "I didn't think we'd see this day. This is unbelievable," a tearful Locklin said of the Welcome Home event.
Maine's Vietnam veterans and their families marched across the Two-Cent bridge in to Waterville to finally receive a homecoming fit for a soldier. For those veterans who have already passed away, their families march for them. Tina Richard, herself a veteran, marched for her father. "I think he'd be proud. And I think he'd be proud that I'm doing it in honor of him."
Local students marched in honor of soldiers like Larry Chase, who never made it home from Vietnam. Chase was in the same unit as Robert Locklin. "That makes me feel better than myself. He gave his life," Locklin said.
There's more than 40,000 Vietnam veterans here in Maine. For some of them, the scars from their first homecoming still run deep. They say this homecoming is too little too late. But for those who chose to take part, after half a century of waiting, it's a moment overflowing with emotion. "People here really deserve a homecoming," Ward said. "And I'm finally glad that somebody as come to their senses to welcome us home."
Add your Comments