The following letter, word-for-word, is one I wrote to my nephew, a Viet Nam
DEAR VIET NAM
IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT!! IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT!!
You were home, growing up, finishing school, taking care of family, working, or other daily activities of life. You were called upon to defend the lives and future rights of people in a foreign land. You left your life and families on hold, expecting to return to complete schooling, or a family, or a trade to support a future family. You left your innocence, youth, and inexperience, only to grow up far too fast, see horrors of war, and become a casualty yourself of a war you felt was necessary. You lost your buddies, leaders, parts of yourself, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Most of you lost them all at some stage of the war.
You were ready to fight for freedom and safety for people you didn’t know, for a country you were not familiar with or even heard of before, because it was your turn. Previous wars and conflicts took our other young men and women for the same purposes, also to foreign lands, to fight for the rights and safety of people of those lands, because it was their turn. Because it is what our men and women do to maintain freedom for all.
Although both you and I were scared for you to go, we knew it was to be, and we would pray and support you, and wait for your safe return home. What we didn’t know then or to this day, was when I look into your eyes and see you as you are now, and remember the person you were when you left, my heart breaks.
You see, what we both did not know in the beginning, was the Viet Nam
You cried when you told me of these things, and I cried with you. I cry today for you. You were forced to endure this kind of treatment for years. I couldn’t talk to you much about it. I didn’t know what to say. How could I tell You how I was hurting, when I could see how the memories of how you were treated still tearing you apart inside? The love I have for you now is the same as before, even stronger, but it’s not enough to wipe away the past. It’s not enough to stop the nightmares, names they called you, or the way they treated you.
I was born after the end of World War II, but I have always heard stories of how family and friends pitched in together, how they supported without fail, our troops fighting abroad, and how they were welcomed home with open arms, not spit on. Not cursed or called names. Why just those returning from this war? How can I make your life now any better? I didn’t do those things to you, but I didn’t try to stop it either. I didn’t understand the toll it took on all of you.
Media and public communication was most of the problem, along with the leaders of our country, but too many Americans let these people influence how they felt about our troops. How on earth could people be treated this way when it wasn’t their fault? By the grace of God, they made it home and deserved better!
DEAR VETERAN,
IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT!! IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT!!
I could say it a million times, but would it ever be enough? Will it ever erase the hurt, heartache and mental torture you have had to endure since returning from war? Would it ever be enough to take away the hurt, loss and guilt you still feel for your fallen comrades?
I can only hope you accept our apology, mine and other grateful citizens of our United States of America, for your sacrifices and putting you in the line of fire in war and in returning home. Please forgive me. Please forgive all of us. It is long past the time for healing. It is long past the time when we should have supported you, and taken our leaders to task instead. Maybe we can all heal, even if just a little bit at a time. My hope is that no other service person is subjected to the same kind of treatment. Please forgive us all.
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU ALL, AND SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
(I am not trying to open old wounds, just trying to help heal them.)
Your Aunt
