‘For people to do something for us, I couldn’t be happier’
A Boston College senior with prospects to play professional hockey as the Vietnam War raged, E.J. Breen chose to wear a Navy pilot’s uniform instead of seeking glory in a hockey jersey. Yesterday, as the Red Sox honored more than 800 Vietnam veterans, Breen teared up while telling Herald reporter Brian Dowling that a simple “thank you” might ring hollow to many — but it’s what many Vietnam vets long to hear the most.
“When we came back, all of us have the same story — the ‘baby killers, you’re no good.’ To hear people say, ‘Thanks for your service,’ it may sound empty to some people, but to us it has tremendously deep meaning, especially since the welcome home we got was horrible. For people to do something for us, I couldn’t be happier for an organization like to Red Sox to give a (expletive) about us.
It’s just like they say, ‘ Not a dry eye in the house.’ When you see a guy you haven’t seen in a long time and you’ve been through (expletive) like we’ve been through, you can’t describe it. You can’t explain it. You feel full, just full.
I was pretty competitive my senior year at B.C., I had a choice whether I was going to pursue a hockey career in the NHL. We were learning about Vietnam and I just said, my country is at war.
I was walking through the cafeteria at B.C. and there was a guy in uniform. He said ‘Aren’t you E.J. Breen, the hockey player?’ I said ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Geez, you’d look great in a Navy uniform as a Navy pilot.’ I said, ‘ That’s got a great ring to it.’ That’s how shallow I was, honest to God. That’s what started me thinking about it and, as time went on, I got more and more serious and reading more and more about what was going on over there.
I decided I was going to go into the military and go to war with my country. That’s how we felt. It sounds corny now. I don’t think it’s a popular feeling today, but that’s how I felt. I did two tours as a Navy pilot in Southeast Asia — the first based in Thailand with missions in Laos, and the second in Vietnam.”