Hospice Hosts Fourth Annual Vietnam Veteran Celebration

When Pat Curran returned from the Vietnam War, he did not get a “hero’s welcome.”

Not many soldiers did. Instead, they were spit on and shamed.

In 2015, Curran attended his first Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans celebration hosted by Hospice of the Chesapeake. This was the first time he had ever been thanked for his 14 months of service.

“That was the first time I was ever welcomed. Everybody was applauded, thanked. I’m still getting chills,” he wrote in the veterans’ newsletter for Hospice of the Chesapeake. “It really was one of the sweetest gifts I have ever been given.”

This year, Hospice of the Chesapeake is hosting the fourth annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans celebration.

“Here they can wear their colors, and they’re honored as heroes to us,” said Elyzabeth Marcussen, communications specialist at Hospice of the Chesapeake. “It’s like the community is begging forgiveness for past injustices.”

The event draws more than 600 Vietnam veterans. It begins with military, Naval Academy and community members greeting the veterans with applause, posters and flags. Refreshments are served, and guests mingle with one another before the speakers begin.

This year, the speakers include Senator John Astle, who served as a Naval aviator flying helicopters in Vietnam; retired Army Sergeant Major Rodwell L. Forbes, who will share his experience with post-traumatic stress disorder; and Deborah Grassman, a mental health nurse practitioner.

In previous years, there were maps hanging up, and veterans would point to the maps and compare where they were stationed.

“A lot of times, they’ll discuss, ‘I was here, I was there,’” Marcussen said. “They tend to go to the maps and point to where they were. That’s fun to watch.”

There is also a ceremony where veterans receive a special pin specifically for Vietnam veterans. The pins are distributed by the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, which is selective about which organizations it partners with.

In addition to the speakers, pins and refreshments, veteran service organizations set up tables to teach veterans about the services they offer. These vendors range from suicide prevention to insurance companies.

“What I look forward to most is just seeing the emotion from the Vietnam veterans, even the ones who have been there before,” Marcussen said. “They’re still overwhelmed by the love. There’s an incredible amount of love that happens there.”

For Mary Jermann, the director of volunteer services, it is her first time attending the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans event.

“I’m really excited about the message of healing,” Jermann said. “It gives me chills to be part of something that is this important and significant.”

Marcussen agreed that this event is an important part of the healing process.

“This is part of that process of healing for them is they see that there’s a community that’s there for them, that we have resources for them,” Marcussen said. “After you leave today and tonight and go home, we’re still here, and though this event is over, what we do for you is never over.”

Overall, Jermann highlighted that this event has a broader meaning that extends past the Vietnam War.

“It’s so important for the Vietnam veterans, but it’s also so important for our active military and our community to see this and participate in something like this that we’re giving respect,” Jermann said. “We don’t want this to happen again.”

The fourth annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans celebration takes place Thursday, March 29, at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport Hotel at 5:00pm. Doors open at 4:00pm. Admission for Vietnam veterans is free with one guest, and additional guests cost $30.