Vietnam Veterans, A welcome home and letters home

When I think about Vietnam Veterans, I think of family, fathers of my friends, people I work with, yellow ribbons, POW's, and fallen heroes. When I think about Vietnam Veterans, I think about how they deserve a hero's welcome home every year. History has a way of softening hard edges, of lessening the pain from losing so many, and of understanding things once too confusing.

March 30th is celebrated as "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans" day. I'm dedicating this column to over 2.7 million Americans who served in Vietnam, almost 60,000 killed in action, over 150,000 wounded, and some 1,600 missing in action. Mark your calendar for March 30, and let's honor Vietnam Veterans.

From honoring those who made it back, we also remember those gone. The names of 637 Mississippians are forever carved on the polished, black granite Vietnam Memorial that we call "The Wall." If you've ever seen it in DC or visited the traveling replica, you already know when you see it, when you're near it, when you touch it, there is a sudden silence that surrounds you. The Wall is where you'll find our second Vietnam-era Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Lance Corporal Roy M. Wheat. Roy grew up in Jones County in the close-knit town of Moselle. He was killed in action on August 11, 1967. John Douglas Foster has written a book detailing the lives of some of those heroes on The Wall who died serving our country. Foster's stories aren't just factual accounts of what happened, but rich descriptions of how these heroes lived their lives.

Himself a highly decorated Marine from California, Foster saw combat in Vietnam with the Second Battalion, Ninth Marine Regiment in 1967 and 1968. It was in 1968 that he was wounded during the Tet Offensive. After Vietnam, he served as a Marine security guard with the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Foster separated from the Marine Corps in 1979. He left with "haunting memories of comrades that led to his quest to learn more about those who didn't return." Heroes from the Wall, Foster's book, captures the personalities, hobbies, dreams, and last thoughts of those heroes.

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Lance Corporal Roy Wheat's last months are chronicled in letters he wrote to his parents. Foster tells the story with help from Charles Sullivan, an archivist from Gulf Coast Community College. Roy Wheat was like folks we know who were from small-town rural Mississippi where family and church centered your life. He grew up like each of us.

Marine Roy Wheat died when he was "20 years and 18 days old and threw himself on an exploding mine in Vietnam to save the lives of two fellow Marines." Most of us will never be in a position to understand how someone makes the choice to put themselves in harm's way to save others. But when you read about Roy, you understand who he was and why he made that ultimate sacrifice. No one told him to do it. "What would cause a Marine to jump on a mine, killing himself, to save his comrades? Love. Love is what Marines use to overcome the feelings of fear. Marines fight for their buddies. …In an act of supreme devotion, Roy obeyed a higher power, and he did it in the name of love. That's what Marine Roy Wheat did. He fought and died for his buddies."

Following are excerpts from letters Marine Roy Wheat sent to his parents. His last letter was written on August 8, 1967, three days before he died in Vietnam.

September 1966 letter home from Parris Island, South Carolina.

"I'm doing fine up here. You should see me in my uniform with my hair cut short. I go to church every Sunday morning. …I applied for communications but I'll probably just be an old jungle fighter like the rest of them. Training is not too hard if you really want to be trained. I qualified as a marksman on the rifle range and I was proud of it and so was my drill instructor."

November 29, 1966 letter after graduating boot camp.

"Boy I sure look good in my uniform. I wish you could have seen me. I will go to Vietnam in March of 67. I will be home for Christmas and boy the girls had better watch out when I hit Moselle and Hattiesburg. Have the car gassed and oiled for me for I am going to ride. I can't wait to get into civilian clothes."

March 28, 1967 letter from Chu Lai, Vietnam where he joined Kilo Company, for his first taste of combat.

"…There's one thing I dislike over here. You can't see the Cong until you're on top of them and you can't see what you're shooting at. I waded about 200 yards in a rice paddy while a chopper flew above giving me and my buddies cover. The chopper was shooting Cong that were lying in the paddy around me."

April 5, 1967 letter about home and fighting in Vietnam.

"In three more months I'll be 20. Has Moselle changed any or does it still look the same? I guess I want to be an old farmer and just raising and fattening cows and selling them. Some of these people over here are farmers just like the farmers in the states. They use oxen to plow. We use a tractor. Sometimes it's not very pleasant over here but I'm fighting to keep America free and the people over here free."

April 10, 1967 letter after being wounded.

"I don't want you to worry any when I tell you this because I'm alright. ...there was a big explosion. My feet left the ground and my rifle went up in the air and a piece of shrapnel tore a hole in my helmet and I got a scratch on the head. (He was sent to a Red Cross ship to recover.) The doctors are really nice and the nurses on come around and talk and mail your letters. I'll be back with my company pretty soon."

June 21, 1967 letter after his promotion to lance corporal about being homesick.

"I'm getting tired of this place over here. It's the same thing every day, seven days a week. It's like being in a dream. All we do is sweat and kill all the time. …I sure wish I could get some good ole southern home-cooked meals. You better have some corn bread, peas, butter beans and okra for me when I get home. And a big slice of cake. I'm going to eat all the time I'm home."

July 27, 1967 letter about an act that earned him the Navy Commendation Medal.

"I found a wire that was running through the bushes and it was a booby trap. I grabbed the grenade and told the men behind me to run. It was a two second fuse. I turned loose of the grenade and ran back down the hill. It was the first time a booby trap was set off at night without killing anybody. Well, mom, you can write and tell everyone about the great heroic bravery I did, ha ha. I'll be glad when I can get out of here and get home where I belong."

July 30, 1967 letter about his second and more severe wound.

"Just a few lines to let you know I'm doing fine. We were setting up an ambush Sunday when Charly threw a grenade. It got three of us. I got hit right in the tail. Isn't that a good place to get hit? Ha ha. …Dad, I got the Purple Heart yesterday. It sure is pretty. The Colonel came around and gave it to me."

August 8, 1967. Roy's last letter home.

"Dear mother and family, just a few lines to say hello and let you know I'm doing just fine. I'll probably be out with the 1st platoon later today. I sure will be glad to get out there and see some of my old buddies again. Be good and keep going to church. Tell those brothers of mine to be good. Love, your Marine, Roy."

To read more stories of Vietnam heroes, you can purchase Heroes from the Wall, click this link: http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Wall-John-Douglas-Foster/dp/1469155400.

For Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Marine Roy Wheat and everyone who bravely and courageously served in Vietnam, we remember you every day. On this and every March 30th, we will celebrate you on "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans" day. This anonymous quote is dedicated to the men and women who proudly, honorably served our country in Vietnam: Real heroes don't have a name on the back of their jersey. They have their country's flag on the arm of a uniform. Thank you for our freedom! March 30th, we won't forget.

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