By Allen Crabtree

Special to The News

It has been 59 years, almost to the month, when I stepped off the plane onto Tan Son Nhut airfield in Saigon as a young U.S. Air Force First Lieutenant.

In 1964, there were only about 23,000 American military in Vietnam, and the “American War” would grow to be much bigger and deadlier with each passing year. Although stationed in South Vietnam, the war I experienced was much different from many of my military comrades, especially those that had direct combat roles in the jungles and rice paddies.

My Vietnam service in 1964-1965, as well as a short assignment in-country to Vietnam from my USAF deployment to Northern Thailand in 1969, was a mixture of good times and not so good times. In 1964, I believed in America’s aims and, other than the family separation, enjoyed the adventure in Vietnam and its people. However, over the years, I have felt that my service somehow didn’t matter as much as others who had served in harm’s way. After coming home, I felt I didn’t “fit in” with other Vietnam vets at veterans’ groups. More galling, the public didn’t want to talk about the war. It was if we had never gone.

Many things about Vietnam I buried in the back of my mind. I kept one memory alive, however. Saigon in 1964 was a bustling city with remnants of the colonial French influence, full of refugees from the countryside and from the north. In 1964, I “adopted” a family of refugees who had fled from the north and were struggling to survive in Saigon, but after the “American War” ended in 1975, I lost touch with them. With the help of ads in the local Saigon papers, I was able to reunite with them and have been back to Vietnam twice, in 2007 and 2008, to stay with them. I had the honor of giving one of their granddaughters away in Buddhist marriage to a wonderful young Vietnamese doctor as their “honored grandfather!” I helped one of their grandsons get into a university in Seattle. We visited three sisters now living in Toronto, who fled Vietnam as boat people after the war. I stay in contact with my “family” in Vietnam.

Maine Honor Flight

The Honor Flight Network was established in 2005 and has 129 independent hubs across the country, flying 260,000 veterans to Washington, D.C. since then. Honor Flight Maine first flew Maine veterans to Washington in 2014 and has taken more than 1,000 veterans there since.

On the October 2023 Honor Flight Maine trip, there were 49 veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. Accompanying each veteran was a “guardian” to help them, push their wheelchair, if needed, and look after them. My “guardian” was Dale Nelson, one of our Denmark Mountain Hikers from Lovell, who stepped in at the last minute to take the trip with me. Tom Curtin, another USAF Vietnam veteran who lives in Naples, was also on the trip with his son Tom Curtin as his “guardian.”

We were greeted at the Portland Jetport by well-wishers, and everywhere we went during the weekend there were crowds of people giving us heartfelt “thank you for your service” messages. For many of us, it was the “welcome home” that we never had received.

This October trip arranged by the Maine Honor Flight gave me a chance to talk with other Vietnam veterans and share our “war stories.” Talking with my veteran peers helped me to remember my own Vietnam war experiences and come to terms with some of them.

On the plane returning us to Portland we all received a “mail call” with notes and messages from people thanking us for our service. One I received, from Katy in Wisconsin, a Soldiers’ Angel, spoke to my heart. She said: “…I can imagine this is a very emotional day for you for many reasons. May you remember this day as a tribute to you for the many personal sacrifices you made to serve our country and the gratitude we have for you.” I got tingles reading her words — they meant a great deal to me.

Monuments and Memorials

The monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. that we visited were poignant reminders of the value that America places in those who answer the call and have served to keep America free. We also had the opportunity to meet young servicemen and servicewomen on active duty and share stories with them — they are so young! But, so were we once.

Seeing the rows of gravestones at the Arlington National Cemetery brought back sad, strong feelings — I had last been here in 2008 to bury a close friend, retired U.S. Navy Captain Peter Huchthausen. He had served in the “Brown Water Navy” on the Mekong River when I was in Saigon.

Two in our Honor Flight Maine group were honored by placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — Ginny Tucker, a 92-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War from Brunswick, and Arthur Pinkham, a 96-year-old U.S. Army veteran of Korea and World War II from Machiasport.

The Honor Flight Mission

Honor Flight Maine Chairperson Matthew Mank reminded us that the mission of Honor Flight Maine is to honor America’s Veterans for all their service and sacrifices, and transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to tour, experience and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to our most frail veterans — terminally ill veterans of all conflicts, as well as World War II, Korean War, Cold War, and Vietnam Veterans.

Mank said: “There is urgency in Honor Flight’s mission — an estimated 600 WWII Veterans die every day. Our time to express our thanks to these most senior heroes is rapidly running out.”

I am reminded of this poignant song about Australian veterans of World War I — And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle (1971). His song was based on the 1895 tune Waltzing Matilda by Banjo Paterson.

The last verse of Bogle’s lyrics could have been written for Honor Flight and our elderly veterans who are honored:

…

“And so now every April I sit on me porch

And I watch the parades pass before me.

And I see my old comrades how proudly they march

Reviving old dreams of past glories

And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore

They’re tired old heroes from a forgotten war

And the young people ask, what are they marching for?

And I ask myself the same question.

But the band plays Waltzing Matilda

And the old men still answer the call

But as year follows year, more old men disappear

Someday no one will march there at all.”

It was a wonderful trip, and I urge veterans and families alike to help support Honor Flight. There is no cost to any veteran for their trip, but there is currently a waiting list of 450 veterans to be chosen to participate. The time to honor these veterans is running out quickly. Hopefully, if funding permits, there will be five trips in 2024. News Center Maine had a television crew with Don Carrigan at the Jetport in Portland for the welcoming home ceremony, and reminded viewers to take part in their fall fundraiser for Honor Flight.

Thank you, Honor Flight, for helping me refresh old memories, and to give our veterans the honor and recognition they deserve as we all age and grow older.