The bang of a 21-gun salute rang through Bristol Township last Wednesday night, then a lone bugler played “Taps” for the quieting crowd gathered at the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans headquarters on Coates Avenue.
Dozens of orange balloons were released and floated into the darkness, disappearing above the bright lights of two firetrucks. Veterans and military supporters craned their necks to watch them go.
The peaceful image recalled a horrid past.
During the Vietnam War, the United States military sprayed about 22 million gallons of chemical herbicides on Vietnam and parts of Laos and Cambodia. Agent Orange, used most prominently, destroyed forested areas where North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops could hide from U.S. forces and depleted crops used to feed them.
It’s also linked to scores of long-term health ailments for Vietnam veterans. This ceremony, held each year on Veterans Day, pays respect to those soldiers specifically.
The Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans have lost 17 members from Agent Orange-related diseases, retired U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. David Pearl said.
“Hundreds of Vietnam veterans are dying every day,” he added.
Before the balloon release, the crowd gathered in the main hall at the DV3, where veterans from several U.S. conflicts read poems that reflected their experience and honored their fellow soldiers. Many of the poems touched on emotional issues following combat.
“Each night they dreamed and cried and fought a raging war,” Vietnam veteran Ferdie Tellado read. “Some are walking the homeless streets, some in VA mental wards. Many have died from illness contracted in Vietnam. Some just quit fighting, some picked up a gun.”
Some added personal sentiments to the poems, like veteran U.S. Army Ranger Kevin Strouse. He dedicated his poem to Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, who on Oct. 22 was killed during a mission to save 70 ISIS-held hostages in Iraq. Strouse served alongside Wheeler during his time in the Army.
“This war will not end, the stakes are far too high,” he read, holding back tears. “A few friends are gone already, how many more will die?”
These poems expressed the struggle of U.S. veterans. Most touched on losing friends, being at war, returning home, dealing with illness and mental health and the personal hardships involved in dealing with the tragedies of war — things that unite all veterans, regardless of when or where they served.
Elected officials also addressed those gathered.
“You raised your families, built your communities, you built your churches,” state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson said. “You came back to this country and lived the life you fought for.”
This ceremony marked the eighth time the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans hosted this event on Veterans Day.
“Your presence here today and that of the people gathering across America is tribute to those lost troops and their families,” Pearl said. “It’s a way to say, ‘We remember.’ ”
