"After researching and speaking with many Veterans, I have come to find a common thread amongst the intricate, confusing and complicated fabric in time. I found threads of pure "truth" in the expressions of some who had real difficulty. Not only while in the midst of war, but well after; with coming home and daily life. So much judgment, isolation, feeling misunderstood, or not understood at all.
"It seems what many really needed the most was so simple. Things like recognition, respect, love, honor, acceptance, and a safe space to share, talk, yell or cry. A place to be exclusively honest with other vets regarding the surreal sights no human should ever have to see, let alone keep to themselves. I was surprised to learn many never heard an honest "Thank You." How difficult to have the absence of parades (like the other war-time heroes had in their honor), no national stamp for their efforts, no programs to assist in their transition and all that was lost, and even the 3-syllable greeting "Welcome Home" seems to have been said much too infrequently.
"With all this, and wicked memories tatooed to their minds, recurrently chasing sanity, it is not surprising to me that there may have been residual effects and difficulty for some of our Heroes of Vietnam still with us today. It is in part, for this reason that I found myself wanting to do "something" for the Veterans of Vietnam. To, somehow, help this forgotten generation of a very volatile time."
To ALL Vietnam Veterans -- THANK YOU for serving our country.