On Veterans day I received a letter from Tayler, my grandson and his 5th grade class. It asked several questions about The Viet Nam war and how much I missed my family and my children. I answered as  best I could, but I was a single young man at the time and lived with my parents. I helped support them as dad was disabled due to Black Lung disease, Coal mine injuries and smoking Camel cigarettes for 56 years.

I can't tell you how badly I felt for my parents, Mary and Carl on the day I left home to go to Viet Nam.

They were not just seeing their son go to war, but seeing it again for the third time. My oldest brother Mike served in WWII and his outfit flew gliders behind German lines. There was NO news about the war, no TV, just letters and what the radio had to say. Then there was Korea, my brother Carl served, was wounded and suffered Post Distress badly on his return. However there was no treatment for "shell shock" at that time.

 So my mom and dad were emotionally torn when I left home..........Here we go again....years of worry.

But it was not their last worry. The Viet Nam war lasted long enough for my younger brother Dave to go too.

 

 The anguish parents went  thru should be recognized. A veterans parents day. Not a holiday. Just a day to commemorate parents of all soldiers that served in all wars.  

Well said, Ron. Thank You.

Thank you Ron for sharing. Your generation is so quiet about their service, it's nice to hear about it when you do speak up. I agree, a veteran and/or active duty parents day would be a great day to observe. If we can observe Kwanza, I am sure we can find away to honor those parents, and family members who pay the price too with their loved ones in service.