May 1, 1973. The end of the Vietnam War has great significance for those who grew up during the chaotic times of soldiers being sent by the thousands to Southeast Asia while folks marched and demonstrated in the streets. There were 58,000 known dead who are memorialized in Washington, D.C., but, for the survivors, many of them have lasting trauma from their time in country.

They were brave men and women who served voluntarily or were drafted. They were exposed to Agent Orange, the military’s grand defoliant plan.

I have a close friend who was a medic during that conflict and whose job it was to ride helicopters in to retrieve the wounded and the dead. Helicopter pilots and service members were often killed or badly burned when they were shot down. Retrieving the wounded was a wrenching experience, but part of his job. His medical skills in the copter rides back meant the difference between life and death or limbs lost.

I am sure that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have had comparable experiences and memories. They can never be washed away with beers and a barbecue. They also were not drafted like in the Vietnam conflict.

The president, who never served, wants a massive show of military power and weaponry, costing close to $100 million. It is a sad irony that the man — who fought to stay out of the military and has referred to the wounded, dead or captured as “losers” — wants to celebrate our war weapons.

David Hyde
Pownal