Vietnam veterans get long-awaited ‘welcome home’ with Texas Capitol memorial
by Peggy Fikac
chron.com
March 29, 2014
AUSTIN – The dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Monument at the Texas Capitol on Saturday highlighted the pain, pride and solidarity of those who served in an unpopular conflict.
“They fought, they bled, all too often they died for their country. When they came home, there wasn’t any parades. There weren’t any picnics. Instead they were treated with indifference or, even worse, with outright scorn,” said Gov. Rick Perry.
Perry said the bronze sculpture of an infantry patrol, unveiled before a throng of veterans, will “stand as a declaration that in Texas, we understand how blessed we are to have warriors ready to step forward and draw a line between us and those who would do harm to our citizens.”
He noted “the many Vietnamese nationals who fought alongside us throughout that war.”
Perry – an Air Force veteran who served between 1972 and 1977 flying C-130 tactical airlift in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East – formally accepted the monument on the state’s behalf from Robert Floyd, chairman of a committee composed of Vietnam vets who raised money for the $2.2 million monument and oversaw its production.
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