Veterans plan statewide reunion
Conducted by the USS Kidd and Louisiana Veterans Memorial in conjunction with the Special Forces Association Chapter 30, the 1 p.m. event will take place at the Louisiana Veterans Memorial Plaza, 306 S. River Road.
Lane Carson, secretary of Louisiana Veterans Affairs, will be the keynote speaker.
The Blue Star and Gold Star Mothers of Louisiana will also be recognized at the ceremony.
Other activities include free admission to the USS Kidd Museum for the day and music from the St. Alphonsus Boys Choir following the ceremony.
Print
Email
Save
Share
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
When many who fought in Vietnam returned home, they were received with less than open arms — even by veterans of previous conflicts.
“I came home and went on down to join the VFW and they treated me like … I was just a piece of trash,” said Roger Arnold, of Port Allen. “They actually told me I wasn’t in a war. I don’t belong there.”
Almost four decades later, the slight still stings. This week, Arnold and several other mostly Vietnam veterans are trying to make sure that veterans — those who served before and after them — have a different experience.
The Louisiana All Veterans Reunion will be held Thursday through Sunday at BREC’s Airline Highway Park/Fairgrounds, 17200 Airline Highway. The event, which will include tributes to veterans, military equipment displays, live music, a children’s village and food, is open to the public. There will be no admission charge, but donations will be requested at the entrance. Organizers plan for the event to be held annually.
“When we came out of the war, because the war was such a divisive thing for our country, we didn’t get the welcome home ceremonies like everybody else did,” said Les Miller, of Brusly, executive chairman of the event. “We made a vow — a promise, actually, to ourselves — that never again would we forget another group of veterans nor allow another group of veterans to be treated the way we were treated.”
Although there have been numerous local veterans events, including an annual parade in Port Allen, organizers say this is the first statewide reunion that invites all veterans of all military conflicts. There are 480,000 veterans living in Louisiana, said Bill Campbell, who served in the Marines.
Organizers got inspiration for the event from annual reunions held in Melbourne, Fla., and Kokomo, Ind., that draw more than 100,000 visitors. Those reunions have historically been for Vietnam veterans, although the Melbourne event is now open to all veterans. Organizers say they expect about 60,000 to attend the Baton Rouge event.
The goal is to offer thanks to veterans and give them an opportunity to reminisce and re-form friendships, Miller said.
“We have a tremendous pool of veterans who have never heard a thank-you,” Miller said. “The Iraqi, Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom, Panama, Grenada … The Korean War is known as the forgotten war.”
“The World War II generation has been called our greatest generation because they overcame the horrors of Nazism and fascism and the imperial Japanese Army. But I think the best generation of veterans are those serving now, because they’re all volunteers. Not one of them was drafted. Not one of them was forced to serve.”
The All Veterans Reunion will feature the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, which has as its centerpiece a replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall that is 370 feet long and about 8 feet tall at its apex. Other aspects of the tribute include exhibits created in gold dog tags recording names of military personnel who died in war, memorials commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and photographs and information honoring World War II veterans. The opening ceremonies will be at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Organizers are still seeking sponsors, who may call Miller at (225) 907-6703 or Connie Steward at (225) 955-8176.
ON THE INTERNET:
http://www.louisianaallveteransreunion.com
Monday, May 12, 2008
12:39 AM