Soldiers returning from serving during the Vietnam War did not find homecoming celebrations.
Far from it. They were spit on, called names and suffered vitriol of all kinds.
Decades later, Vietnam veterans in the Bradford area will be treated like royalty, the driving force behind an event planned for Sept. 19 in the city.
Ron Peters of VFW Post 212 of Bradford is organizing a National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The day is intended to honor prisoners of war and the missing and their families, as well as spotlight the government’s commitment to account for those military personnel.
People are often focused on recent wars, but some military personnel remain unaccounted for, said Peters, who is the former VFW District 19 commander.
The event in Bradford will also recognize Vietnam veterans, in conjunction with 50th anniversary of that period. August 1964 is when North Vietnamese torpedo boats failed to attack a U.S. Navy destroyer, according to one news report.
The National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony is tentatively planned for 11 a.m. in Veterans Square in downtown Bradford. At the event, Peters is planning on having a speaker.
The plan is also to treat Vietnam veterans to dinner that night.
“They weren’t treated well when we came home,” Peters said when contacted about the event on Tuesday afternoon. The 1960s turned out to be a tumultuous time. “We were called to serve and we went. And we did our jobs.”
The Vietnam conflict, which spanned from 1954 to 1975, put the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam (Viet Cong) against the government of South Vietnam and its principal alley, the United States.
Many American soldiers — more than half a million — were stationed in Vietnam. Expenses and the number of causalities became too much for the United States, and U.S. combat units were taken out in 1973.
Peters said he served in the military for 14 to 15 years, but he deflected the personal gratification, saying the story is not about him.
“It’s about honoring those who served in Vietnam,” Peters said.
Peters said he is hoping that Vietnam veterans come out for the event so they can be honored.
