ROCKVILLE, Md. – In the 40 years since the conclusion of the Vietnam War, Montgomery County had never officially honored its residents who served our nation with a public ceremony.
That changed Saturday, when veterans, public officials and residents all gathered at the Universities at Shady Grove to share and listen to stories about fighting in Vietnam.
“Today is our opportunity to say thank you,” Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal told WTOP. “These men just gave so much and some gave all. I just hope the veterans know we are a grateful county.”
Veterans talked about their personal experiences on the ground or flying over Vietnam, about their encounters with other soldiers and even their time in war prisons.
“It is a day of remembering and saying thanks,” said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught. “For those who were out on the ground seeing action, that never leaves you. When they discovered here they never said thanks to people from this county, I just think it was wonderful that they decided to say thanks.”
Retired CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer was the master of ceremony for the event. He reflected on his time in Vietnam, reporting for his hometown paper, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“My assignment was very unusual, but very clear – find the young people from our area who were serving there and do stories about them,” Schieffer said.
He said it showed him a lot about the people fighting for our country overseas.
“What I found was a group of young people that were humble, they were brave, and they were homesick. And they were very glad to find someone from their hometown who came to find them.”
Local politicians attended the event, including the entire Montgomery County Council, County Executive Ike Leggitt, Congressmen Chris Van Hollen and John Sarbanes, and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.
“I was one of those young people who saw much of the war play out on television from people who were reporting from the front lines, from people like Bob Schieffer,” Van Hollen said. “While I remember the protests, the anxiety and the pride, I don’t remember any of the welcome home ceremonies.”
The reason, he noted, was because there weren’t any ceremonies.
So when it was learned that there had not been any public ceremonies to honor these veterans, it was became clear to local officials that something needed to be done.
The event drew about a thousand people to the college campus, with thousands more estimated to watch on Montgomery County’s public access cable channels — more people than Vaught had expected.
“It’s obvious that people cared,” Vaught said.
