Community celebrates annual day for Vietnam veterans

After Saturday’s 12th annual Vietnam War Veterans Day celebration, Don Cadwalader left his folding chair to join his fellow Vietnam veterans for a group photo in Huntsville/Madison County Veterans Memorial Park.

He had served three tours in Vietnam during 1966-69, one on a ship and two in country. Cadwalader, 75, of Huntsville, described the importance of the annual celebration.

“Just remembering,” he said. “When I came back, we were spit on.”

Veterans, family members and others in the community took part in the program conducted by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1067. The chapter formed in 2012 with 12 members but has grown to 660.

They heard from guest speaker Rich Goldsmith, a retired colonel who served in Vietnam in 1965 and 1969. Goldsmith, 82, of Madison, is originally from Topeka, Kansas. He grew up in an Army family and went to the U.S. Military Academy.

“Vietnam was a crucible of courage, sacrifice and heartache,” Goldsmith said. “We trudged through rice paddies, hacked through jungle and bamboo, slogged through monsoon rains, and battled an elusive enemy. We carried weapons, ammo, food, canteens, radios and other equipment, but our heaviest burdens went beyond the physical. They were and still are the memories etched into our hearts and souls. We remember our Dust Off helicopter rescuers and then our caregivers – those unsung heroes who tended to our physical and emotional scars. Thank you. You stitched us back together, piece by broken piece, and reminded us that life was worth living.”

Members of North Alabama Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association brought for display at the celebration a UH-1C/M Huey helicopter that flew about 1,500 hours of combat in Vietnam in 1968-70 with the 170th Assault Helicopter Company. The helicopter belongs to U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum, in Huntsville, which loaned it to the association in 2011 to restore, maintain and display.

“It took us about two years working on Saturdays to restore it,” Marshall Eubanks, president of the 65-member chapter which includes Vietnam helicopter pilots and crew, said. They tow the helicopter to veterans events in North Alabama.

Eubanks joined Charlie Miller, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1067, in recognizing Connie Popel, who served as a member of the Donut Dollies in Vietnam in 1969-70. Originally from Perry, Ohio, she graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio in 1969. While a senior and not knowing exactly what she wanted to do, she saw a Red Cross recruiting poster looking for single, female college graduates, ages 21-25, for the Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas program, also known as Donut Dollies. She applied, was accepted and after two weeks of training in Washington, D.C., she was off to Vietnam in September 1969.

Popel, who was then Connie Dugan, served until November 1970 at Cam Rahn Bay, Da Nang and Bien Hoa, setting up recreation centers and conducting recreational programs in the field. There were about 1,200 women who worked for the Red Cross in Vietnam, with 627 of these being Donut Dollies. Popel, who later worked as a flight attendant for Continental/United Airlines, retired from the airlines in 2016. The New Hope resident has two children and two grandchildren.

“Thank all of you for your service. Thank you,” Popel told the crowd.

Chapter 1067 member John Perry provided the welcome and opening remarks. Jim Henderson, chapter chaplain and board member, did the invocation and benediction. Grissom High School Army JROTC cadets posted the colors.

Among the attendees was Jerry Cox, 74, of Gurley, who served in Vietnam with the Navy in 1969 aboard the USS Noa (DD-841), a Gearing class destroyer. He has belonged to Chapter 1067 for six years.

Cox shared his thoughts on the annual celebration.

“I like it because we need to keep reminding the people about Vietnam and Vietnam servicemen,” he said. “It’s to keep awareness and also it gets the young people involved through ROTC, they get to serve (with the color guard). It brings the community together. It brings community groups to recognize Vietnam veterans.

“We get good support here in Huntsville for the veterans. I don’t think that’s true in all the cities.”

Vietnam War Veterans Day events this Friday include a pinning ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Redstone Exchange food court and a ceremony, sponsored by Twickenham Town Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, at the same time at the Tut Fann State Veterans Home.