SPRINGVALE — On Saturday, at the Nasson College Community Center, about 100 people listened as three Vietnam veterans talked about their experiences in the war and their reception upon returning home.
They spoke as part of the Witness to History program put on by the American Legion, District 1 of York County. For Saturday’s event, the legion partnered with the Vietnam Veterans of America Association, Chapter 1044 in Sanford.
This was the fifth in a series of Witness to History events sponsored by the American Legion, said Steve White, the District 1 commander. The previous events included veterans from Pearl Harbor, from World War II, from the Korean War, and those serving with the Merchant Marines during World War II.
“These veterans were all a part of important history,” said White, a former U.S. Army corporal who served during the Vietnam War era. “We hold these events so they can share a little slice of that history.
“You read about them in books, you see them in movies. These are the real people,” he said.
The three men who shared their stories included retired Major General John Libby, retired Command Sergeant Major Anthony “Tony” Cincotta and retired Sergeant E.F. Joseph Armstrong. All served in the U.S. Army.
All three said they are still affected by their experiences ”“ not only during of the war, but also in the aftermath when they returned home and were poorly received by the American public.
Libby talked about the terror and the death that surrounded him while serving in Vietnam. But what he said still affected him was when he returned home in 1969 and was picked up by his wife, “no one with the exception of family said, ”˜Welcome home,’ or ”˜Thanks for your service.’”
He blamed the leaders of the country ”“ who he said chose advancing their careers and policies over dealing with the war ”“ with why the American public turned against the war and the soldiers who fought it.
Libby, who stepped down as the head of the Maine Army National Guard last year, said he found it difficult to welcome home troops who served in Desert Storm and Desert Shield because of the bitterness he felt from the reception he had when returning home. However, he said, because of the experience of Vietnam veterans, “our society realized the error of its ways. They recognized it’s not the warrior who is to blame.”
“Welcome home and thank you,” said Libby as he ended his speech.
Cincotta compared the way the media covered the war to how they covered the huge musical concert known as Woodstock in the summer of 1969. While the concert and attendees were “glowingly” covered by Time magazine, he said, in that same issue there was only a small blurb about a “meaningless war in the jungles of southeast Asia.”
From Aug. 14-18, 1969, when 40,000 young people were listening to musical history being made in upstate New York, “109 American lost their lives” in Vietnam, said Cincotta. Those men “never got recognition or good press at the time.”
“When we came home, we received a less-than-friendly welcome home,” said Armstrong, president of the Sanford chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America.
The Vietnam veterans organization was founded in 1978, he said, because those veterans didn’t want to “let other veterans go through that.”
Those who served in Vietnam served with honor and courage, said Armstrong, and did so to fulfill the expectations of society, and their fathers and uncles who served in World War II.
Upon their return home, the vast majority became productive members of society, although many suffered from psychological and physiological problems, he said. Today, veterans from Vietnam are finally getting recognition.
“It’s not more than we deserve,” said Armstrong. “It feels good to be acknowledged.”
Those who want to honor Vietnam and other veterans, said Armstrong, shouldn’t stop by going to assemblies like the one held Saturday. They should “seek out those who served, thank them for their service, ask them to share their feelings and memories.”
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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