Vietnam veterans pleased with increase in support

Marysville native and Vietnam veteran Phil Ross said he tears up each time he hears “Taps” played out during a parade or military funeral.

“I’m thinking about all the people who aren’t here,” said Ross, 65, who served in the U.S. Army from 1972-1976.

Ross estimates that he lost at least 20 friends from Vietnam, and it never gets any easier as time goes by. What he’s pleased with is how support for the military has increased in the years since Vietnam. Ross remembers getting out of the military and having no one available to pick him up. He said he walked from Oakland to Marysville in 1976 because he couldn’t get a ride.

Now days, he receives thank yous from individuals on the street, much like on Monday when he was wearing his Vietnam veteran hat and lined up on D Street for the return of the Yubasutter Veterans Day parade (following last year’s cancelation).

“It’s a lot different now then it was then,” Ross said. “People are coming around.”

He remembers past parades being just 15 minutes long, as opposed to the 2019 version which featured about 150 floats and many organizations up and down the main streets of downtown Marysville.

Ross’ friend and fellow veteran, Bill Kearns of Yuba City, also served and was wounded flying an airplane during one of his tours in Vietnam in the late ‘60s. Kearns was a construction engineer originally from Ohio but found himself in Marysville following his military stint. He said he’s been here about 20 years and is pleased with the support he gets from local organizations and the Yuba-sutter Veterans Stand Down where he received a lot of his dental and health benefits.

Ross said the guys on the ground only do what they’re told and work together as best they can.

“We’re fighting as a group,” Ross said.