By Nathan Erickson
“Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.” -Mjr. Michael Davis O’Donnell
Sacrifice.
Duty.
Honor.
These are a few words that come to mind when you think about our nation’s soldiers. However, what happens when we lose sight of these values, instead thinking only through our narrow perspective of morality or political agendas? Well, explore the national reaction to Vietnam War vets returning home. Get a first hand account of someone returning home. Then, you can appreciate the wrongs borne on so many.
In some ways, I think we are ashamed by our actions as a nation in that time period. I think it has fundamentally changed how our military treats those returning home from war, and we as a nation will never view our military personnel, following orders in an institution where they have no control, as “baby killers.” We have also tried to remember and honor all 58,256 heroes killed and missing through our building of the Vietnam Memorial. We toured this memorial today and I attempted to capture a few scenes of our enduring remembrance.
