Forty-five years ago, May 30th, 1969, my best friend was killed in Vietnam. His name was Lance Corporal Gordon Dean Perry. He was nineteen years old (the average age of those killed in Vietnam). He had entered the USMC the previous August. Altogether in the ten years of the Vietnam War, he and two and a half million other soldiers, sailors and airmen signed a blank check to our country for the amount up to and including their lives to serve in Vietnam. Dean and more than fifty-eight thousand others paid the full price in Vietnam. Sadly, we left over three thousand behind as MIA (Missing In Action). My heart aches most of all for those who have no closure about their loved ones fate. What is a Veteran? Someones child, someones spouse, someones parent, someones brother or sister--who when their country called, answered that call, both here at home and in far off places around the world. Some call us all heroes. We who served know who the real heroes are--and we still mourn their loss. We are simply patriots who saw our duty and did it to the best of our ability. May God bless America and may God bless my fellow veterans this Veterans Day and everyday! Sgt. Terry K. Hagedorn, USAF, Vietnam 1970-73
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:57:35 +0000