Wiregrass Hold Welcome Home Ceremony for all Vietnam Veterans

Matt Boster

Viewed: 2955

Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Mar 29 2014 2:06 PM

DOTHAN: Today the City of Dothan and Houston County held a Welcome Home Ceremony for all our Vietnam Veterans. Opening comments were given by Dothan City Commissioner Taylor Barbaree. Invocation was given by Brandon Shoupe.

Presentation of the Colors was done by Ed Pritchard and the Dothan High School JROTC Color Guard. The event was held at the Westgate Recreation Center.

The national anthem was sung by the beautiful Friends Choir, special guest speakers included; Ed Pritchard, Mark Culver, Mike Schmitz, Lt. Col. Marcus Gengler and Max Roberts.

The Patriot Guard was on hand to help honor our vets; the patriot guard are heavly involved in honoring our vets and the ones that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

For everyone who is old enough to remember the Vietnam War can also remember the welcome home out veterans received. There was no welcome home ceremonies, no thank you for your service. Instead they were called bad names, looked down on and basically out casted by the United States for fighting a war in a uncivilized country.

Today’s ceremony was long overdue, the people of the United States have welcomed home every soldier except out Vietnam Vets and today we did just that.

Today’s ceremony was an emotional one for Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz. Mike’s brother Bill was a Vet and He remembers just how bad it was when they came home.

I am sure your family had or has other family in the military that are or have been overseas fight for our countries freedom. Just think how and what they must have felt when they risked and gave their lives for us only to come home and be shunned a pond just because they had to do things just to stay alive.

We should never ever forget our vets; without them we would have been able to have any of the freedom’s we have today. At the end of the ceremony a fly-over was done by two helicopters that were used during the Vietnam War.

 

<- back