LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Hundreds of Vietnam War veterans in Nebraska’s capital were given a warm welcome home more than four decades after returning from war.
The Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/2oTUnIQ ) reported that 650 Vietnam veterans from Nebraska were flown to Washington Monday to visit the Vietnam War memorial and pay tribute to their fallen comrades. When they returned to Lincoln that night, they were greeted by thousands waving U.S. flags.
It was a homecoming many of the veterans didn’t receive when they returned from the war. Rick Siebert of Fairbury said only his parents were at the airport to greet him.
“It almost makes you feel guilty, because I got to come home, when 50,000 guys didn’t,” he said.
Dave Eaton was hit by shrapnel from a mortar blast just 17 days after he arrived in Vietnam. During Eaton’s tour, nine people from his unit died, in a war that claimed more than 58,000 American lives.
“After a while you got to the point where you didn’t get too close to people because you didn’t know if they were going to be there the next day,” he said.
After spending the day touring the memorial, the veterans took four Honor Flight jets back to the Lincoln Airport where a reception was planned.
“This feels really good to realize how much people care,” said Gene Buhman, a former sailor from York.
Dave and Cindy Olson of Tekamah waited for several hours to greet their veteran friends at the airport.
“They were pretty emotional when they left,” Dave said. “One of them said they didn’t sleep at all last night.”
The airport ceremony was organized by Patriotic Productions. Last year’s event in Omaha drew an estimated 5,000 people.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
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