FORT CARSON, Colo. --The ceremony at Fort Carson's Kit Carson Memorial Park June 11, 2015, was a welcome home that few Vietnam service members experienced when they returned.
"When I came home from Vietnam, they flew us in at night so we wouldn't be harassed by the (protesters)," said Leroy Scott, who fought in Vietnam in 1967-68 in the Tet Offensive. "They'd get us in, get us out. They gave us a cold meal and sent us on our way … there was nobody there to thank anyone."
The respect and honor at the June 11 ceremony was powerful for Scott.
"I've never been to something like this. … I'm speechless," he said. "I just told the guys, 'I'm home finally. Today … I finally came home.'"
The Vietnam Veterans' Welcome Home ceremony was held in conjunction with the display of the Moving Wall, a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. The wall was on display outside Gate 1 from June 11-15, 2015.
"You served your nation in a time of cultural pressure and turmoil that we in this current generation could not fully understand," said Maj. Gen. Ryan F. Gonsalves, commanding general, 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson. "You served with honor, dignity and pride that stands to be learned and emulated by our Soldiers today."
This year marks the 50th anniversary of American involvement in the Vietnam War with the deployment of nearly 200,000 troops by the end of 1965.
"Though decades … might seem to conceal the connection between the Soldiers of 1965 and the Soldiers of 2015, do not doubt that you are forever linked to the Soldiers of this generation for your common love of your country and your mutual willingness to give your life in its defense," Gonsalves said.
That connection was something Spc. Ian Templeton felt after the ceremony.
"I just got back from Afghanistan, so I got to see for the first time the support when we came home and what it felt like to be thanked by people. It's a shame that these men never had the same thing I did, that they didn't get to come home and shake peoples' hands," said Templeton, a Soldier with 52nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div. "I'm glad that I had the opportunity to participate in this and tell them one-on-one that I think they are amazing and deserve the homecoming I had."
The sacrifices of the remaining Vietnam veterans, in addition to the names etched on the wall honoring the more than 58,000 fallen service members, will be remembered.
"You chose to serve your nation. You have proudly passed the torch of service to today's Soldiers and have paved the road that resulted in the most powerful competent and capable military in the world," Gonsalves said.
"When it was the most difficult, you remained steadfast and loyal to your country and your fellow Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen and for that, we are eternally grateful."
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