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Published on 11/17/1999 All articles from this issue

An emotional outpouring during LA salute to Vietnam veterans

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By Clyde Noel

Special to the Town Crier

They came from the jungles of Vietnam, the beaches of Normandy and the battlefields of Korea, and they gathered in the downtown Los Altos Community Plaza to salute the veterans who served in Vietnam. They sent a clear message to all of us: Remember.

In an emotional ceremony last Thursday, guest speaker Richard T. Schlosberg III, president and chief executive officer of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, spoke for the first time in public about Vietnam.

"After the war we came home to a nation that was not united. We didn't want gratitude, but we didn't expect ridicule," Schlosberg said. "It became difficult when you came home and had to apologize for your country being in Vietnam. To this day, a lot of military people have not recovered from the Vietnam War."

Schlosberg said the Los Altos-Los Altos Hills Veterans Day ceremony was a gathering to honor the 53,000 lives lost in Vietnam.

Quoting from author Charles Dickens, Schlosberg said that Vietnam was the best of times and the worst of times.

"You learn an appreciation of other people, of the unit over self and how the light shines on other people," he said. "There are no small jobs in the military. No one wanted death. In the military experience, you learn the best things in life are free. Often people don't see that until later in life.

"It was the worst of times when you would see a comrade fall," Schlosberg said. People don't usually face their own mortality until middle age, but "we (faced) that every day," Schlosberg said.

He cited another example of difficult times in Vietnam. He and his wife communicated via audiotapes. "When you listened to a tape from home it became difficult. You could hear the dog barking, the baby crying and the doorbell ringing," Schlosberg said.

After Schlosberg finished speaking, Paul Nyberg, publisher of the Los Altos Town Crier, read the names of Vietnam veterans known to be living in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Nyberg asked them to take the stage for recognition and an attempt to do some healing.

Some of the Vietnam vets who took the stage made the following comments:

Steve Anderson: "It was a wonderful talk. Very memorable. It brought a damp spot to my eye."

Jim McGee: "This was very meaningful. It brought a tear to my eye."

Wyatt Allen: "I did fine until 'Taps.' I lost some buddies in Vietnam. It was a real learning experience."

Pride, honor and solemnity marked the ceremony. Veterans of all wars came to pay tribute to one another and to acknowledge the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for their country. They also came to applaud the millions of living veterans who served when called, served so we could all reap the rewards of living in a free nation.