Four Islanders who are Vietnam War veterans spoke frankly and movingly in the Gazette newsroom last week about their experiences in an unpopular war that divided the country.
The statement that follows was adapted by Dwight T. Colley from notes he used at the Regional High School forum on Our Vietnam Policy held on Nov. 20. In the discussion, Mr. Colley, a year round resident of Seven Gates Farm, who fought on the front lines of both World Wars, took an opposing view to that of Dr. Allen M. Butler of Tashmoo Farm, whose statement appeared in last week’s Gazette.
“I am sure that the good people of our Vineyard do not need to hear the so-called ‘other side’.
They came nearly 20-strong out of the gathering dusk of Tuesday evening and into the American Legion Hall in Edgartown. All are veterans of the Viet Nam war. They came to talk about honor, specifically about who should be honored and how for service in Viet Nam. They came to talk about the creation of a Vineyard memorial monument dedicated to those who served in Viet Nam and to those who died in Viet Nam.
It’s been more than a generation since this country sent its soldiers to battle in the jungles of a small country called Vietnam, and there are many Islanders who believe their community has yet to pay proper tribute to those who served.
Nothing was simple about the war in Viet Nam. That era divided our society, and offered no easy answers for those who fought or for those who did not. Now 14 years have passed since the fall of Saigon, and more than 25 years since the war began, though it is even hard to pinpoint the beginning of that conflict.
Misconceptions of Viet Nam veterans to be cleared up this Memorial Day:
1) That we were dragged into military service: two-thirds of the men and women who served in Viet Nam volunteered for duty. In contrast, two-thirds of the people who served in World War II were drafted.
“It was like going to meet a friend...and finally saying goodbye.”
Henry Decoteau of Vineyard Haven was a career man in the Air Force, not a fellow familiar with tears. But when he and his wife Bette traveled to Washington last week to be part of the National Salute to Viet Nam Veterans, the weight of emotion was almost too much.
Woody Williams graduated from the Island’s regional high school in 1969 and went off to fight a war. In some ways, he’s still fighting it.
Jeff Baker knows the feeling. Sometimes when he’s sitting in his Vineyard Haven home he hears rapid gunfire and jumps up. It’s his wife popping corn.
Several years have passed since the two young men left the jungles of Southeast Asia. Yet still they wonder when they will leave behind the ugly visions and enjoy Island life with others of their generation.
Notification was received this week by his family, of the death in the Gulf of Tonkin of United States Navy Lt. John Robert Painter Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Painter of Hine’s Point. Lieutenant Painter was lost last Friday in an aircraft accident at sea, when he was flying from the carrier, Oriskany. Details of the incident are still not known.
A group of Islanders will be participating in the March on Washington on April 24, which is being organized by the National Peace Coalition, calling for an end to the Vietnam war.
