30 Vietnam veterans get medals for decades-ago service at ceremony at the Museum of American Armor

When George Young returned to New York after serving in the Vietnam War there were no homecoming parades or a hero’s welcome.

It was 1969 and anti-war sentiment was sweeping across the nation in the form of rallies and demonstrations.

Shocking images from the Tet Offensive, a coordinated series of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacks in South Vietnam in 1968, had eroded public support for the war. Tet was considered a military loss for North Vietnam with over 50,000 communist soldiers killed. But hundreds of U.S. soldiers also died in the attacks.

So as Young walked through Kennedy Airport in his Army uniform in 1969, he was shocked by the hostile reception. 

“When I got out of Kennedy Airport they were cursing and spitting at me all through the airport,” Young, 74, said Saturday.

His experience was not unusual. Many soldiers returning from Vietnam were blamed for what seemed to be an endless war. 

But on Saturday, Young and 29 other Vietnam veterans got the recognition they should have received decades ago at a ceremony hosted by the Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage. Many attended with their families, including grandchildren.

“They were scorned for their service and here they are over five decades later being honored,” said Bill Stratemeier, a retired colonel with the New York National Guard and a former Air Force pilot who flew supplies into Vietnam from 1972 to 1974.

The Long Island Air Force Association began holding events in 2015 to honor Vietnam veterans who served in the war with a commemorative medal and, so far, they’ve paid tribute to 1,200 vets.

One by one, each veteran was called to the front and they lowered their heads as Paul Salas, director of logistics for the New York Air National Guard, draped a medal around their necks.

“The courage possessed by the men that we honor today is something that cannot be taught. Your willingness to put our country first is what truly makes America the home of the brave and that is what we celebrate today,” Salas told the crowd.

Young, who was there with his wife, a son and three granddaughters, was grateful he finally had his moment but he was also a little bitter it didn’t come sooner.

“It’s a little too late but I'm glad that people are waking up, and seeing the sacrifice we made,” Young said. His 12-year-old granddaughter Brielle Ramos was glad to be there. “I was surprised. It’s nice for everyone to come together,” she said.

Fred Di Fabio, president of the Long Island Air Force Association, said Saturday's event was more poignant because the families of the Vietnam veterans witnessed it.

“This medal they're receiving means more to them … because their family was there to participate in it,” said Di Fabio, who also served in Vietnam.