A nice Memorial Day thing..

My husband is a Vietnam Veteran (and in fact, his Parkinson's was probably caused by exposure to Agent Orange). Anyway, he had to travel to D.C. today for work . He was at SFO wearing a Vietnam cap and a young G.I. in uniform came up to him and said, "Welcome Home and thank you."  David felt very honored. Then the plane captain, who is also a Vietnam vet, came up to him and bought him a movie for the plane. And then they let all the vets board first. I'm glad--the poor Vietnam vets didn't get much of a welcome home at the time...

Lizanne

very nice. thanks for telling us this sweet story. diane

It's interesting...David was a true anti-war hippy, living in the Haight, serving free meals with the Diggers, etc. and then got drafted. He opted to serve and despite his very major reservations with the war, he has told me many times that he learned SO much from his time there and from being in the service in general. He feels in hindsight that it was one of the most important things he ever did and contributed a great deal to his later success in school and business. You just never know...

Lizanne

I'm glad he got the recognition he deserved. As the daughter of a Vietnam paratrooper myself, I want to thank your husband for his service.

What a nice story!!! Thank you to your husband for his service and all the other vets. We take a lot for granted.

Gail

What a wonderful experience for him.  I remember all too well how the Vietnam vets were treated.  It was awful.  I hope this country never treats its veterans that way again! 

Give your DH my regards and thanks for serving.

Thank you for sharing this story.  And please, tell your hubby a big THANK YOU from the rest of us!!!

Blessings,
Rana

Your story brought tears to my eyes.  We can never say "thank you" enough.  Your husband and men and woman like him keep us safe.  Please tell him that my family is grateful he served. 

Awesome story!!!

It's interesting that you mentioned Parkinson's, Vietnam and agent orange, because I was reading about it today.  I stumbled across it online while searching for other disability info.  My husband is still active duty and I am a disabled vet (I served for 10 years).

Tell your husband thank you for serving.  I think it's crazy cool that a young G.I. gave him the respect he deserves, and the pilot was nice too. 

The article I read said that Parkinson's had finally been approved as an agent orange side affect.  Has he gotten it added to his disability?

http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1796

Thanks, I think it's really cool, too, and David was just blown away that this young soldier was thanking him and welcoming him home after all these years. Yes, he was diagnosed with PD about 2 1/2 years ago, just as the whole agent orange thing was being discussed and then added. We don't qualify for normal military benefits because of income, but he is now in the system and being seen by the military docs in addition to the P.D. docs at Stanford. It is truly a comfort to me to know that no matter what, the V.A.  will now see to his health care if need be for this problem. One of the things he is passionately involved with with his company is the Wounded Warrior Project, so it's all very personal. A big Thank YOU to you and your husband both for your service and sacrifices, Trish!

Lizanne