Fellow Veterans and Friends of Veterans,
Saturday is the fifth annual Veterans Summer Celebration & Picnic.
We are paying special tribute to our Vietnam War Veterans — 40th anniversary of the end of the war.
Please attend. Meet legendary combat pilot and ex-POW of the Vietnam War, Col. Ken Hughey (USAF, Ret.). He will be our keynote speaker and will hold a book signing about his memoirs “Outlaw Lead.”
Ken enlisted in the Air Force at age 17 and retired as a colonel. His air combat experience includes 564 combat sorties in Southeast Asia.
While leading a flight of F-4 Phantoms over North Vietnam, Ken was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery and taken prisoner.
As a POW he spent 14 months in a one-man cell, five months in complete isolation. His wife did not know he was alive until after 3½ years of his captivity. She had to wait in the silent hope that he survived being shot down, then wait another 2½ years for his release. Ken’s military decorations include: Two Silver Stars; Legion of Merit; three Distinguished Flying Crosses; two Bronze Stars; thirty Air Medals, and four Purple Hearts. This is a story in itself.
Don’t miss this festive occasion for fellow Veterans to gather and enjoy picnic-style refreshments, music and camaraderie.
See a Brentwood News editorial by Jeff Hall.
On Saturday, local veteran activists are hosting a gathering called the fifth Veterans Summer Celebration & Picnic to honor all veterans – but especially those who served in Vietnam. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the end of that conflict.
Many of those who served in Vietnam endured a lot of excitement they wish they hadn’t. One of the speakers will be 83-year-old retired Col. Ken Hughey (Air Force) who was a POW.
It does seem as if Vietnam veterans got a pretty raw deal upon their return. Post- 9/11, those who served in Iraq or Afghanistan have returned to something of a hero’s welcome. Certainly that was the case after WWII.
But Vietnam was a particularly divisive and unpopular war. It seemed as though society practically blamed the soldiers themselves for participating. That wasn’t fair. Many of the soldiers were drafted against their will.
Many who fought thought they were doing the right thing by joining. If our leaders said we had to go fight, many heeded the call.
Should they have been blamed for this?
Whether you agreed with that war or not, we can all agree most of the folks who served in Vietnam received the short end of the stick upon their return. Many got pretty messed up and many are still homeless after all these years.
In a small way we can recognize these folks by attending Saturday. In addition to Vietnam veterans, there will be veterans from WWII, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Rosebrock may be contacted at rrosebrock1@aol.com