Thank a Vietnam vet today

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Lee Landis
  • 436th Operations Support Squadron commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  I was watching a televised Super Bowl party the day before the big game where my Steelers lost (very sad), and noticed there were a lot of military members in the audience.

I mentioned to my wife that it has become cool to have the military at big events these days. It is almost un-American to say anything negative about the military right now - it is a good time in history to be serving your country.

Unfortunately, this was not always the case in America. We have many Vietnam veterans who work at Dover. Ask them about the reception they received after returning from Southeast Asia.

Many of them were called "baby killers" and spat on. There were no invites to Super Bowl parties with Kid Rock singing. These days when you return from deployment, you get 100 proud Americans at Baltimore-Washington Interational Airport, Md., 24/7 to meet every aircraft returning troops to America.

You hear the drums and the cheering while you are standing in the customs line - big difference in the reception between now and back in the late 60's and early 70's.

When a military member travels in uniform, folks bend over backwards to thank them for their service or even pick up a lunch tab. This happened to Chief Master Sgt. Larry Williams, Master Sgt. Daniel Duckworth, and myself a few months back. We couldn't even thank the person, because they paid their bill and ours and left the restaurant.

You can also watch the national sentiment playout in the Washington D.C. budget battles. Federal government workers are facing a pay freeze, but the uniformed military has been excluded from the discussion. Right now, being in the military is a noble, worthy cause according to society.

So, please don't take what we have in the military today for granted. The country is behind us. We owe them our best effort and must demonstrate professionalism in everything we do.

I know the next time I am offered free tickets to something, I am going to find a Vietnam vet and see if they would want to go. They never got these type of benefits from their time in the service. Please, thank a Vietnam vet today and dedicate yourself everyday to proud service!