My friend, it is so simple to understand. Let's look at the situation with an open mind. When veterans of World War I and World War II came home after serving their country overseas, they received a hero's welcome. There were parades down Main Street, USA, banners waving, balloons flying, cheers, speeches, and celebrations. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" still rings out in the memories of these veterans. Newspaper headlines hailed the acceptance, praise and honor of our returning military men. Old news reels portray a society that embraced the men of war, the men of leadership, the men of the hour. The returning veterans were accepted with open arms, and rightly so.

In contrast, let me relate my experience when l returned home from Viet Nam. I arrived at Weir Cook International Airport, (now Indianapolis International Airport) one cool October day in 1968. No one was there to meet and greet me. I called a cab to take me to my home on McDougal Street. As I settled back for the ride, I said to the driver, "I just got back from South Viet Nam." He turned and looked at me and said, "So what?" Here I sat, just home from the most horrifying experience of my life, and no one cared. A man, whose life was on the line daily for the past eleven months, didn't even rate a "Thank You." I soon realized that my service in Vietnam was not going to get much of a response.

What's wrong with the Viet Nam veteran? Psychology teaches us that a baby who is held, touched and given attention will be more likely to mature into a well rounded, self-motivated and happy adult. On the other hand, the baby who is not held, touched or shown affection will have a greater chance of growing up to be withdrawn, have feelings of inferiority, experience a fear of excelling and low self-esteem. The Viet Nam veteran is like the second baby. He was rejected and scorned by a divided society and he exhibits the symptoms which are the result of that rejection.

What's wrong with the Viet Nam veteran?

Today we have thousands of men who were victims of a mishandled "police action." A conflict that should have been dealt with and ended quickly, went on forever, maiming bodies, destroying minds and taking lives. Senator Barry Goldwater, in a televised interview, spoke of the on going tragedy of Viet Nam. He said that American air power could end the Viet Nam War overnight and if he were President he would call Ho Chi Minh and give him forty-eight hours to withdraw all his troops from South Viet Nam. Instead, the war lasted for years and, when it was all over, nothing had been resolved.

What's wrong with the Vet Nam veteran?

Between the years of 1965 and 1975, the conflict in Viet Nam escalated gradually until eventually over 9 million military men and women faced combat. 58,132 men were killed or are considered missing in action, all for causes that few can really identify really identify. It was a cause that few Americans could support. Our American leaders wore blinders, or simply looked the other way ignoring the reality faced by our troops in South Viet Nam. I once held in my arms a man weighing three hundred pounds who was sobbing, "I can't go on. I just can't go on." This man was just one victim of an unjust war justified by men in high places.

What's wrong with the Viet Nam veteran?

He desperately wants to come home. Home, what a beautiful word. It represents everything you care about, the place you feel accepted and loved. My daughter returned home from a four day stay in Florida. and when she walked in the house she set her luggage down, walked to her room and said, "Ah, my room. It's my room." She was glad to be home.

When can we come home? Maybe soon. There may be no parades for us, no banners waving or headlines hailing us as heroes, but America can begin to accept and embrace the veteran who struggles emotionally every day of his life. Help us fill that great vacuum of emptiness and remorse, sorrow and guilt, with words of poise and a feeling of pride and honor. The next time meet a Viet Nam veteran, shake his hand and say, "Thanks, man, for what you did over there. And, by the way, Welcome Home!"