Editor, Times-Union: One of my most rewarding accomplishments while serving District 22 as your state representative was the resolution I introduced marking March 30 Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day and our governor signing the proclamation making it official. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War, which started under the Kennedy administration. It was the first real war that was televised. Each night we saw the horrors of war in our living rooms. When our solders returned home from Vietnam, they were not treated to a hero’s welcome. There was no ticker tape parade, instead they were booed, verbally abused and even spat upon. One of our local Vietnam vets said he would take off his uniform when going into town because of the abuse he would receive. These brave men did not question the motives of the war, they didn’t question orders, they just did their job. To make sure veterans of future wars do not face the same treatment that our Vietnam veterans unjustly received, they adopted an official motto which reads: Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another. A year has passed since the proclamation and it is time to again thank our Vietnam veterans and welcome them home with the respect they deserve for serving our country. As Ralph Garcia, a Vietnam veteran so emotionally stated at the statehouse last year, “We are the home of the free because of the brave.” We honor you on March 30, Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. Rebecca Kubacki Former State Representative Syracuse, via email
