Vietnam Veterans Receive Welcome Home Event at Augusta VA Medical Center

The Augusta VA Medical Center held a welcome home celebration on April 15 for Vietnam War veterans who never got formal recognition when they came back from service. The event at the uptown division honored the men and women who served in the conflict.

Henry King came back from serving in Vietnam in 1970. No parades. No official welcomes. He went through airports without drawing attention to his military service, moving through crowds in silence.

"They told us when we got to the states if we got civilian clothes to change into them and we'd probably get spit on. I didn't get spit on," King said, according to Augusta Good News.

King spent six years in the military, split between active duty and the Reserves. Being honored at the ceremony meant a lot to him.

Dennis DuPuis flew helicopters during the war. He spoke at the program about his three homecomings after tours in Vietnam. He got no welcome home celebration, not a single one.

"I came home in August. There wasn't any welcome home. There wasn't a welcome home for my dad or my brother or let alone my brother's wife who was a nurse when he was wounded," DuPuis said. "We didn't know when we were coming home."

DuPuis called his fellow servicemembers the survivors of the war. He credited military spouses and mothers as survivors, too.

The wall is dedicated to veterans with the names of those who died or are missing etched upon its black granite. The celebration ended with veterans getting pins. The 282D Army Band from Fort Jackson, South Carolina, played songs at the event.