Coming Home
Sept 4, 2010 1:52:59 GMT -6
Post by Moderator on Sept 4, 2010 1:52:59 GMT -6
Coming Home
By Jeff Seeber
I stumbled across another one today. He's one more guy in a long line of guys I've come to know or have heard about in the last nine years who felt the time was finally right to do something to publicly honor those he served with decades ago, to honor friends who were lost, and to demonstrate in some small way that we served our Nation proudly during a time when the phrase "duty, honor, country" had become meaningless to most and was ridiculed by many.
When the current generation of American Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen and National Guardsmen found themselves at war in the aftermath of September 11, none of us who served during Vietnam expected them to mention us as they deployed or when they returned. Yet that is exactly what they did.
They used every opportunity to let the American people know that we should have been treated the same way back then as they were being treated now. We suddenly found ourselves hearing "Welcome Home" from complete strangers. We were being approached by people we didn't know who thanked us for our service. We are well aware that it happened only because the men and women who have served during the Global War On Terror made it happen.
Because of the changed atmosphere, some of us felt that the time was right to pay tribute to those we served with and to publicly remember those we lost. In my case, I produced a video and gave copies to friends. Within a year we were sending copies all over the world. One thing led to another and here we are seven years later having participated in too many projects to count, all of which were designed to demonstrate our support for America's Military and her Veterans.
Others wrote books about Vietnam and then gave away copies. Some began helping other Veterans apply for health or compensation benefits. Some formed groups to send packages overseas to our brothers and sisters now serving in harm's way. There have been nearly as many ideas as there are Veterans who decided the time was right to come back from our self-imposed exile.
The guy I learned about today decided to build a Vietnam Veterans memorial on his property in Becker County, west of Park Rapids and just outside the township of Ponsford. He served in the Marine Corps and returned changed forever. Some of his friends didn't come back with him. He wanted to honor them as well as all those who are serving now.
There is a bluff next to his home that he calls Bunker Hill. From a stand of trees on the top of the rise, you look out upon a vast sea of prairie grass that seemingly extends to the end of the earth. The scene, the winds and the sky are the very definitions of peace. It's a perfect place for a memorial.
He built a deck that begins at the tree-line and extends out towards the prairie. At the end of the deck, where the bluff begins a steep drop, he placed six tall, lighted flagpoles that surround a statue of a Marine wearing a Vietnam-era combat uniform. He hoisted the flag of the United States, a POW/MIA flag and the flags of the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force on the respective poles. His memorial was seen primarily by family and friends at the start, but that would soon change.
The original flags flew night and day for a year before they started to tatter. He decided to buy new flags and schedule a day when he could get some people together to lower the worn flags, raise the new ones, and then respectfully retire the damaged flags, burn them and bury the ashes.
Just as my group discovered when we started our project, word gets around. By the time he conducted a similar ceremony a year later, his friends had told others. In addition, he had mentioned his memorial to guys he served with and some of them indicated they would like to visit and participate. The third Saturday in August outside the township of Ponsford, Minnesota was about to become a very special day every year.
There has been a precise moment in time for many of us who served during Vietnam when we felt like we had finally come home. I mean truly home. For me, it happened at The Wall in Washington, DC on a beautiful June day in 2008 when I was able to touch the names of four buddies after three failed attempts years earlier. I was able to do it because I was surrounded by new friends who had my back.
I'm guessing the Marine in Ponsford experienced his own moment last summer when a stranger and his wife were standing in the audience and told him they had stayed in the area for two extra days to attend the flag raising and retirement ceremony. They had heard about it from friends they were visiting. The stranger was also a Vietnam Vet. He felt he needed to be there. Maybe he could finally feel like he was home, too.
It's been nearly seven years since the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built on Bunker Hill. Now every year on the third Saturday in August, hundreds of vehicles drive up the gravel road. Now they come from all over the country. That one Marine who served in Vietnam has been joined by his brother and sister Vietnam Vets, Korean Vets, Cold War Vets, Persian Gulf Vets and War On Terror Vets. He's been joined by a Color Guard, an Honor Guard and a Bugler. He's been joined by his grandsons who carefully prepare the retired flags for burning.
All of them are somehow drawn to his place so they can witness the six tattered flags being lowered and hear the drums roll as they come down for the last time. They want to see the six new flags being raised. They want to hear the mournful notes of Taps echoing out onto the prairie and the crack of the three rifle volleys. They want to stand silently during the respectful burning of the retired flags and the burial of the ashes. They want to witness or participate in a simple ceremony that somehow explains the phrase "Duty, Honor, Country".
The Marine in Ponsford can now look down upon the prairie from Bunker Hill and know he's come home at long last. I'm guessing he'll be bringing others with him. Welcome home, Howard. Welcome home, my Brother.
By Jeff Seeber
I stumbled across another one today. He's one more guy in a long line of guys I've come to know or have heard about in the last nine years who felt the time was finally right to do something to publicly honor those he served with decades ago, to honor friends who were lost, and to demonstrate in some small way that we served our Nation proudly during a time when the phrase "duty, honor, country" had become meaningless to most and was ridiculed by many.
When the current generation of American Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen and National Guardsmen found themselves at war in the aftermath of September 11, none of us who served during Vietnam expected them to mention us as they deployed or when they returned. Yet that is exactly what they did.
They used every opportunity to let the American people know that we should have been treated the same way back then as they were being treated now. We suddenly found ourselves hearing "Welcome Home" from complete strangers. We were being approached by people we didn't know who thanked us for our service. We are well aware that it happened only because the men and women who have served during the Global War On Terror made it happen.
Because of the changed atmosphere, some of us felt that the time was right to pay tribute to those we served with and to publicly remember those we lost. In my case, I produced a video and gave copies to friends. Within a year we were sending copies all over the world. One thing led to another and here we are seven years later having participated in too many projects to count, all of which were designed to demonstrate our support for America's Military and her Veterans.
Others wrote books about Vietnam and then gave away copies. Some began helping other Veterans apply for health or compensation benefits. Some formed groups to send packages overseas to our brothers and sisters now serving in harm's way. There have been nearly as many ideas as there are Veterans who decided the time was right to come back from our self-imposed exile.
The guy I learned about today decided to build a Vietnam Veterans memorial on his property in Becker County, west of Park Rapids and just outside the township of Ponsford. He served in the Marine Corps and returned changed forever. Some of his friends didn't come back with him. He wanted to honor them as well as all those who are serving now.
There is a bluff next to his home that he calls Bunker Hill. From a stand of trees on the top of the rise, you look out upon a vast sea of prairie grass that seemingly extends to the end of the earth. The scene, the winds and the sky are the very definitions of peace. It's a perfect place for a memorial.
He built a deck that begins at the tree-line and extends out towards the prairie. At the end of the deck, where the bluff begins a steep drop, he placed six tall, lighted flagpoles that surround a statue of a Marine wearing a Vietnam-era combat uniform. He hoisted the flag of the United States, a POW/MIA flag and the flags of the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force on the respective poles. His memorial was seen primarily by family and friends at the start, but that would soon change.
The original flags flew night and day for a year before they started to tatter. He decided to buy new flags and schedule a day when he could get some people together to lower the worn flags, raise the new ones, and then respectfully retire the damaged flags, burn them and bury the ashes.
Just as my group discovered when we started our project, word gets around. By the time he conducted a similar ceremony a year later, his friends had told others. In addition, he had mentioned his memorial to guys he served with and some of them indicated they would like to visit and participate. The third Saturday in August outside the township of Ponsford, Minnesota was about to become a very special day every year.
There has been a precise moment in time for many of us who served during Vietnam when we felt like we had finally come home. I mean truly home. For me, it happened at The Wall in Washington, DC on a beautiful June day in 2008 when I was able to touch the names of four buddies after three failed attempts years earlier. I was able to do it because I was surrounded by new friends who had my back.
I'm guessing the Marine in Ponsford experienced his own moment last summer when a stranger and his wife were standing in the audience and told him they had stayed in the area for two extra days to attend the flag raising and retirement ceremony. They had heard about it from friends they were visiting. The stranger was also a Vietnam Vet. He felt he needed to be there. Maybe he could finally feel like he was home, too.
It's been nearly seven years since the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built on Bunker Hill. Now every year on the third Saturday in August, hundreds of vehicles drive up the gravel road. Now they come from all over the country. That one Marine who served in Vietnam has been joined by his brother and sister Vietnam Vets, Korean Vets, Cold War Vets, Persian Gulf Vets and War On Terror Vets. He's been joined by a Color Guard, an Honor Guard and a Bugler. He's been joined by his grandsons who carefully prepare the retired flags for burning.
All of them are somehow drawn to his place so they can witness the six tattered flags being lowered and hear the drums roll as they come down for the last time. They want to see the six new flags being raised. They want to hear the mournful notes of Taps echoing out onto the prairie and the crack of the three rifle volleys. They want to stand silently during the respectful burning of the retired flags and the burial of the ashes. They want to witness or participate in a simple ceremony that somehow explains the phrase "Duty, Honor, Country".
The Marine in Ponsford can now look down upon the prairie from Bunker Hill and know he's come home at long last. I'm guessing he'll be bringing others with him. Welcome home, Howard. Welcome home, my Brother.