50 years later, thank you to our forgotten veterans

Veterans Day has always been important to me, ever since my days as a cadet at Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC), and throughout my entire military career. I have participated in countless parades, services and ceremonies throughout the years and will continue to do so.

But this year, for the first time, I will not participate as a soldier – this will be my first Veterans Day as a veteran. I retired this summer after 36 years as an active member of the U.S. Army.

As a retired major general and the new president of VFMAC, I’ve done plenty of self-reflection as I start this new chapter in my life. I’ve been thinking about the people who supported me throughout my career, and one group stands out in my mind – veterans of the Vietnam War, a conflict that divided our nation but produced a truly special generation of veterans. It’s important to thank them, especially as our nation continues to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war.

More than 2.7 million American men and women served in Vietnam, and according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 58,000 of them lost their lives. For those who did come home, the road was not easy: Many veterans struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In 2013, the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study found that 11 percent of living men who had been deployed to Vietnam were still suffering from PTSD, almost 50 years later. Thirty-seven percent of those also met the criteria for major depression. Mental illness affected many veterans’ ability to reacclimate to American society: According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, half of the homeless veterans living on American streets are veterans of Vietnam.

During and after the war, this military generation did not enjoy the support that mine did. They endured insults and disdain from their fellow citizens, and they never asked for praise, thanks or sympathy. Many came home from Vietnam and did what most veterans do: They put their uniforms away, and quietly and humbly went back to work.

But then, 20 years later in 1990, when the U.S. took on our next big fight with the First Gulf War, those Vietnam veterans did something remarkable: They stepped up. They vowed no generation of American service members would ever again deploy without support, or return without honor and gratitude.

Because of that, there is a new generation of veterans – my generation – that has been consistently recognized, in many ways thanks to those who weren’t. I can’t thank them enough. My generation stands a little taller because Vietnam veterans have allowed us to stand on their shoulders.

Now, 50 years later, the dust from Vietnam has settled. We can look back and realize that however we feel about the conflict, it was ordinary American men and women who have suffered these last five decades. This Veterans Day, I invite you to thank any veteran, but especially a Vietnam veteran. They’ve waited to be honored long enough.

“We can look back and realize that however we feel about the conflict, it was ordinary American men and women who have suffered these last five decades.”

— Maj. Gen. Walt Lord