04.13.2017

WJRT ABC 12 Flint: Sen. Gary Peters honors local Vietnam Veterans

For many of these veterans it's been 50 years or more since they left Vietnam. It's an experience some wish they could forget.

"It's the type of experience if you haven't had it no explanation is possible to comprehend if you have it isn't necessary to to explain. So we kind of meander around in our own fog you know trying not to think about it more than anything", Chester Kobylas, Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran said.

"When we first come home we couldn't wait to get the uniform off, because we didn't want anybody to know," Marcos Salazar, Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran said.

At the time many Americans were opposed to the country's involvement in Vietnam. And, those who served in the war came home to a mostly unappreciative nation.

"You know a lot of these folks when they came home didn't get the kind of recognition that they deserved and yet they served their country with honor and distinction and it's nice to say thank you and to to be able to commemorate that service," US Senator Gary Peters, said.

Thursday morning at the American Legion Post number 294 in Swartz Creek, Senator Peters honored Flint area Vietnam Veterans with 50th Anniversary Commemorative Lapel Pins. "They have taught the nation that you need to thank folks who have served and we just owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women who served in that conflict," Sen. Peters said.