“Our homecoming sucked,” Hannah said.
It wasn’t until American soldiers returned home after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq that the perception of Vietnam veterans changed. They can wear baseball caps embroidered with “VIETNAM VETERAN” without the fear of retaliation.
During last week’s Middletown City Council meeting, Mayor Nicole Condrey, flanked by four Vietnam veterans, read a proclamation declaring March 29 Vietnam Veterans Day in the city. Five years ago, then President Donald Trump signed into law, designating every March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
On March 29, 1973, Vietnam was disestablished and the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam.
Condrey said reading the proclamation was “very humbling” and “an honor to be in a position to give something on behalf of the city.”
Hannah, 74, one of those in attendance, called the lengthy proclamation and the standing ovation from city council members, city staff and those in Council Chambers “something real special.”
Copies of the proclamation have been given to the VFW and American Legion.
Condrey’s husband, Chief Petty Officer Ron Condrey, 45, a 25-year Navy veteran, committed suicide with a gunshot wound to his chest on Sept. 3, 2018.
Not surprisingly, Condrey is an advocate for all veterans. She wants to unite veterans with the city’s civilian population. Her goal is for Middletown to celebrate the sacrifices made by veterans more than every year on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
“For Vietnam veterans,” she said, “every day is Memorial Day.”
Hannah, then 19, enlisted in the Navy in 1967, one year after graduating from Monroe High School. He was stationed in Vietnam from February 1969 to February 1970. He reminders those dates better than what he ate for breakfast yesterday.
He was asked to describe Vietnam to those who weren’t there. As he spoke on the phone, the enthusiasm in his voice disappeared.
“It was just a horrible place,” he said. “You don’t forget the stench of war. You see a helicopter come in and you know people are chewed up. It was a bad experience.”
And Vietnam was one costly conflict.
An estimated 58,220 U.S. service members were killed in the conflict, and more than 1,600 remain missing in action. The number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed ranges from 966,000 to 3 million.
When Hannah returned to the Middletown area, he worked at Armco for 32 years, retiring in 1989 and later worked eight years for Local Pipefitters 392 in Cincinnati.
Married to Susan with two children and three grandchildren, Hannah serves as commander of the combined Honor Guard for the American Legion and VFW Post.
He remembers a military funeral at a Centerville cemetery when he was approached by a Gold Star mother who lost a son in Afghanistan. After she learned Hannah was a Vietnam veteran, she told him: “You guys were so mistreated. I feel bad for you.”
Thankfully the spit from 50 years ago has been replaced by the sound of sacrifice.
VIETNAM VETERANS DAY PROCLAMATION READ BY MAYOR NICOLE CONDREY
WHEREAS, on Jan. 12, 1962, United States Army pilots lifted more than 1,000 South Vietnamese service members over jungle and underbrush to capture a National Liberation Front stronghold near Saigon. Operation Chopper marked America’s first combat mission against the Viet Cong, and the beginning of one of our longest and most challenging wars; and
WHEREAS, through more than a decade of conflict that tested the fabric of our nation, the service of our men and women in uniform stood true. Fifty-eight years after that fateful mission, we honor the more than three million Americans who served, we pay tribute to those we have laid to rest, and we reaffirm our dedication to showing a generation of veterans the respect and support of a grateful nation and city: and
WHEREAS, the Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds, colors, and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission. It is a story of Americans from every corner of our nation and Middletown, Ohio who left the warmth of their families to serve a country that they loved. It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm’s way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day, to preserve the liberties we hold dear. From Operation Chopper to Hue, they won every major battle of war and upheld the highest traditions of our Armed Forces; and
WHEREAS, 11 years of combat left their imprint on a generation. Thousands returned home bearing shrapnel and scars; missing limbs and spirits broken and still more were burdened by the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, of Agent Orange, of memories that would never fade; and
WHEREAS, more than 58,000 laid down their lives in service to our nation and Middletown. Now and forever, their names are etched into two faces of black granite, a lasting memorial to those who bore conflict’s greatest cost; and
WHEREAS, our Middletown veterans answered our country’s call and served with honor, and on March 29, 1973, the last of our troops left Vietnam. Yet, in one of the war’s most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected — to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example. We must never let this happen again; and
WHEREAS, today, we reaffirm one of our most fundamental obligations: to show all who have worn the uniform of the United States Armed Forces the respect and dignity they deserve, and to honor their sacrifice by serving them as well as they served us. More than a half a century after those helicopters swept off the ground and into the annals of history, we pay tribute to the fallen, the missing, the wounded, the millions who served and the millions who awaited their return. Our Nation and the City of Middletown stand stronger for their service, and on Vietnam Veterans Day, we honor their proud legacy with our deepest gratitude.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Nicole Condrey, Mayor of the city of Middletown, counties of Butler and Warren, state of Ohio, do hereby recognize and celebrate March 29, 2022, as Vietnam Veterans Day 2022.
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