My husband served in Vietnam with the 11th Armored Calvary, commonly called the Blackhorse. Every year the Vietnam Blackhorse veterans hold a reunion in different parts of the country. This summer the group met in St. Louis, Missouri, where there were several days of reliving good and bad times, conducting business for the group and enjoying the St. Louis area.
On one of the last days of every reunion a memorial service is held to honor the members of the Blackhorse Vietnam vets that died that year. During the service, different people share memories of someone from their unit, and the entire ceremony is always a very moving experience. But this year became a special one.
A National Guard unit happened to be meeting in the same hotel where the veterans were staying and holding the reunion. This unit had just returned from duty in Afghanistan where they had been stationed for several months. When they found out that the 11th Armored Calvary was there, they requested of the Chaplain to attend and honor their former military brothers.
As the group of approximately 40 young men and women filed into the room and took their place at the front, the older Vietnam vets stood their feet and clapped for a long time. As the crowd settled back into their seats, one young man acting as the group spokesman stepped forward and began to tell a story of his father who served in the Vietnam War approximately the same time as most of these men. He told a story very familiar to the group of how his father returned home not to cheering and waving crowds like today, but rather to protests and people calling him names for having served his country. He told how his father had been affected by the negative reaction he and other soldiers received. Because of that, he and his unit wanted the opportunity to say “thank you” to their older comrades who served their country. Upon command, the entire group snapped to attention and saluted the Blackhorse guys. As the older veterans stood and saluted the young brave men and women, I looked around and saw tears running down the cheeks of the men and women in the audience as they felt appreciated by the young men and women who stood in their shoes today. As I looked at the young men and women dressed in their fatigues standing at the front, I saw tears there, too, as they looked back with respect and pride. I felt the tears welling up inside me as I thought what a kinship these people shared because of their love of their country. It was a special moment and definitely the highlight of the reunion.