Quilts of Valor

The local news coverage of the celebration for units returning from Iraq and Afghanistan left me with mixed emotions. I was delighted that our fighting men and women were being embraced by our community. At the same time, however, I couldn't help feeling an emptiness as I recalled the lack of welcome for those of us who returned from Viet Nam. We came home to an ungrateful, and sometimes hostile, nation. In some extreme cases, we were spit on as we got off the plane. Some of us had relatives who were part of the protest movement and openly spoke out against our involvement and harshly criticiz...