Vietnam Veterans are recognized

By Debra Ferrell

Caswell Messenger Editor

It was a little bit breezy, but still a gorgeous spring day on Saturday, March 29, when Vietnam Veterans Day was honored in Yanceyville at the town pavilion.

The annual event is held each year on March 29 and is sponsored by Caswell Senior Center, VFW Post 7316, and American Legion Post 89.

Emcee Keith Newcomer welcomed the small crowd and pointed out that although being a Vietnam veteran at the time was not appreciated by many Americans, he has no regrets and would be glad to do it all over again.

President Donald Trump signed it into law in 2017 to have March 29 designated at Vietnam Veterans Day each year.

Many lives were lost and injuries suffered in this long war that endured under six different presidents.

Six fallen soldiers were from Caswell County:

*Army SP5 John Willie Blackwell

*Army Sgt. Ralph Mitchell

*Marine LCPL James Michael Richards

*Army PFC. Billy Lee Snipes

*Army SP4 Kenneth Earl Wade

*Army PFC John Thomas Webster.

Following the opening prayer by Leroy Harrelson from AL Post 89, the posting of the colors were carried out by VFW Post 7316, AL Post 89, and AL Post 447.

A rousing rendition of the National Anthem was sung by Taylor Hudson.

Guests were certainly engaged by the riveting stories shared by Guest Speaker Colonel (Ret) Larry McCarty, a US Army Chaplain.

McCarty said he was going to forgo his written speech and share some stories from the war instead.

He described how as a young man he didn’t truly understand what it meant to be a soldier with a sense of duty and patriotism. On July 4, 1976, he was at a parade where an elderly WWI veteran was going to lead as Grand Marshall. Although it was a blistering hot day, the vet appeared in his woolen full dress uniform. He refused to ride in a car and marched down the street. “Seeing him march in this brutal sun made a profound impact on me,” McCarty describes.

Convinced that the elderly vet would go down at some point, he and his brother followed. And yes, the vet did stumble and skinned his knee and hit his cheek. As folks gathered around, the vet slowly got back up and pushed them away as he cried, “I will finish!”

McCarty shared tears of memory as he described how the vet stated that he was marching for those who couldn’t and even made the ultimate sacrifice.

Although the vet made it through that day, he died not too long afterward.

McCarty pointed out that, “some prices are so high, they can only be paid in blood.”

He also described how Airborne legend Herbert J. Lloyd helped shape his life teaching him to never quit…stand for freedom…be willing to go the extra mile. “I’ll never forget the impact he had on me.”

One particularly riveting tale was driving near Baghdad in a “kill zone” when their vehicle suffered a flat tire from an improvised explosive device designed to flatten a tire to get a clear shot at a soldier. The military police were out changing the tire, but McCarty was so anxious to get finished as quickly as possible, he got out to try to help. “My hands were shaking and you could see the fear in my eyes,” he shares. “A young 18 year old lay prone between me and the village. He said to me, “Don’t you worry, they’ve got to go through me to get to you. That boy was willing to die for me!”

He also described how a Marine risked his own life to retrieve an injured friend shot down in the kill zone. Although he managed to get him safely back to the foxhole, the badly injured soldier soon died. When someone asked the Marine what did the man say to him, he replied, “Jim, I knew you’d come to get me.”

McCarty closed with reminding everyone to never give up and go the extra mile. There’s no greater love than to give your life for a friend.

Following his presentation, Ray Brooks from American Legion Post 89 read aloud the Prayer for Veterans with the closing prayer offered by Jerry Yeatts, a US Air Force Vietnam veteran.

Taps was presented by VFW Post 7316.

A time of fellowship and refreshments followed to close the ceremony.