Colorado, USA
Texas - This evening Patriot Guard Riders of North Texas will ride out on a Welcome Home Mission for Vietnam Veteran Carl Gustafson. Severely injured in 1967 while serving, Gustafson is returning home today from a VFW-sponsored remembrance trip to Vietnam. His daughter has asked the PGR to welcome her Dad home from Vietnam in a manner that should have been the standard over 40 years ago. Welcome home Sir! And thank you for your service!
Followup: January 20, 2012
Vietnam Vet Received Hero's Welcome Home
By: Mechell Dixon
Great video report! Thanks Mechell!
Carl Gustafson was an E-5 Marine Sergeant in the Vietnam War.
A $1 million dollar endowment grant to the VFW provided him with an all expense paid trip to Vietnam.
He returned home from that trip today, and thanks to his daughter and dozens of other Texomans, Gustafson received the hero's welcome home he never got 40 years ago.
As soon as Carl Gustafson walked off a plane this Vietnam Veteran became curious.
However, once he walked into the lobby of Wichita Falls Municipal Airport curiosity turned to crying.
Gustafson's daughter organized this hero's homecoming to give her father the welcome home he never got four decades ago.
"I never dreamed that it would get this big. I hoped it would but it feels like a dream that I was able to do this for my dad," says Shannon Turnbo, Gustafson's daughter.
Active duty military, civilians and Patriot Guard Riders all joined in to show their support.
It's support thousand of soldiers say was missing when they returned home from the war.
"I came back in 1968 and we were not allowed to wear our uniforms," says Vietnam Veteran Carl Gustafson.
"People spit on you. They'd give you the bird sign and it got to the point when we got home we took our uniforms off and we wouldn't even tell nobody that we was Vietnam Veterans," Gary Tedford, who is a Vietnam Veteran and a Patriot Guard Rider member.
"They didn't want to see us. We were the bad people. They didn't realize that we were helping them and they didn't care," explains Ted Foster, Patriot Guard Rider and Vietnam Veteran.
But folks here used cheers, smiles, hugs, flags and military music to show they cared.
That caring continued as Gustafson received a police and Patriot Guard limousine escort to a reception at Faith Baptist Church where a cake and punch reception just added icing to this sweet event.
Gustafson says today's welcome was amazing and it's something he'll never forget, but he also says he just wishes other Vietnam vets could get the same treatment even if it is 40 years after the fact.
Source: Times Record News
That is so awesome. Thanks for making him feel appreciated, after all he is.
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