An Open
Letter to Anyone Who Served in Viet
Nam by Julie
Weaver
Administrator’s
note:
Thirty-eight years have gone by after the last U.S. combat
unit left the war zone South
Viet Nam. Piece by piece, the truths about the war
in Viet Nam surface proving that popular myths such as the VN War was immoral,
VN Veterans were baby killers etc…were products of distortion fabricated
by the liberal news media, Hollywood and supported by some politicians to suit
their own agenda. It was the above
referenced entities that betrayed the VN Veterans, those who honorably served
in Viet Nam
to help my birth country in our legitimate self-defense.
But “True Gold Fears No Fire” my dear American
brothers-in-arms. I am extremely
happy to pass this touching “An
Open Letter to Anyone Who Served in Viet Nam” to you as a Happy New
Year present. This letter was
written in 1991 by Julie Weaver of Burleson,
TX.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Weaver for her honesty
and understanding to write this meaningful letter.
Happy New
Year to all my brothers-in-arms.
*********************************************
AN OPEN LETTER TO ANYONE
WHO SERVED
IN VIET NAM
Dear Hero,
I was in my twenties during the Vietnam
era. I was a single mother and, I'm sad to say, I was probably one of the most
self-centered people on the planet. To be perfectly honest…I didn't care
one way or the other about the war. All I cared about was me—how I
looked, what I wore, and where I was going. I worked and I played. I was never
politically involved in anything, but I allowed my opinions to be formed by the
media. It happened without my ever being aware. I listened to the protest songs
and I watch the six o'clock
news and I listened to all the people who were talking. After awhile, I began
to repeat their words and, if you were to ask me, I'd have told you I was
against the war. It was very popular. Everyone was doing it, and we never saw
what it was doing to our men. All we were shown was what they were doing to the
people of Vietnam.
My brother joined the Navy and then he was sent to Vietnam. When he came home, I
repeated the words to him. It surprised me at how angry he became. I hurt him
very deeply and there were years of separation—not only of miles, but
also of character. I didn't understand.
In fact, I didn't understand anything until one day I opened my newspaper and
saw the anguished face of a Vietnam
veteran. The picture was taken at the opening of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
in Washington, D.C. His countenance revealed the terrible
burden of his soul. As I looked at his picture and his tears, I finally
understood a tiny portion of what you had given for us and what we had done to
you. I understood that I had been manipulated, but I also knew that I had
failed to think for myself. It was like waking up out of a nightmare, except
that the nightmare was real. I didn't know what to do.
One day about three years ago, I went to a member of the church I attended at
that time, because he had served in Vietnam. I asked him if he had been
in Vietnam,
and he got a look on his face and said, "Yes." Then, I took his hand,
looked him square in the face, and said, "Thank you for going." His
jaw dropped, he got an amazed look on his face, and then he said, "No one
has ever said that to me." He hugged me and I could see that he was about
to get tears in his eyes. It gave me an idea, because there is much more that
needs to be said. How do we put into words…all the regret of so many
years? I don't know, but when I have an opportunity, I take…so here goes.
Have you been to Vietnam?
If so, I have something I want to say to you—Thank you for going! Thank
you from the bottom of my heart. Please forgive me for my insensitivity. I
don't know how I could have been so blind, but I was. When I woke up, you were
wounded and the damage was done, and I don't know how to fix it. I will never
stop regretting my actions, and I will never let it happen again.
Please understand that I am speaking for the general public also. We know we
blew it and we don't know how to make it up to you. We wish we had been there
for you when you came home from Vietnam
because you were a hero and you deserved better. Inside of you there is a pain
that will never completely go away…and you know what? It's inside of us,
too; because when we let you down, we hurt ourselves, too. We all know
it…and we suffer guilt and we don't know what to do…so we cheer for
our troops and write letters to "any soldier" and we hang out the
yellow ribbons and fly the flag and we love America. We love you too, even if
it doesn't feel like it to you. I know in my heart that, when we cheer wildly
for our troops, part of the reason is trying to make up for Vietnam. And while it may work for us, it does
nothing for you. We failed you. You didn't fail us, but we failed you and we
lost our only chance to be grateful to you at the time when you needed and
deserved it. We have disgraced ourselves and brought shame to our country. We
did it and we need your forgiveness. Please say you will forgive us and please
take your rightful place as heroes of our country. We have learned a terribly
painful lesson at your expense and we don't know how to fix it.
From the heart,
Julie Weaver
237 East Gatewood
Circle
Burleson, Texas
76028-8948
(817) 295-6287
Email address: julieweaver@juno.com
Courtesy: http://www.worldwideclassified.net/julieweaver/
