The crowd cheered, the band played, and there were standing ovations for approximately 150 Vietnam veterans at Fort Riley on Friday.

The occasion….a Welcome Home Ceremony hosted by Fort Riley.

This is the 50th anniversary year of the Vietnam War. During the Welcome Home event Major General Wayne Grigsby Jr. told the veterans they were part of the long legacy of warriors that graced the history of this country.

“We honor here the burdens borne by our brothers and sisters that served in Vietnam fully knowing that they were not embraced as they should have been when they came home. The failure of our nation to care for the Vietnam veterans did not keep them from caring for one another, and all our veterans. Vietnam veterans have gone above beyond to make sure that the current generation….my generation, of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, do not have the same experience they did.”

The audience at Building 853 at Marshall Army Airfield joined inthe singing of the Big Red One song and the Armed Forces Medley during the program.

Afterwards, Vietnam Veteran Buzz Bruzina of Junction City called the ceremony “Unforgettable absolutely. It brings tears, chokes me up.”

Vietnam veteran Jim Fawcett felt the ceremony helped. “Oh yeah, I still got some ghosts I got to get rid of, but it helps.” On his message to fellow Vietnam veterans Fawcett stated simply, “Welcome home!

 

                                                 Vietnam Veteran Weldon Falwell