Welcome Home, Vietnam Veterans

Daniel Scripter, Grade 9

Teacher Talia Polk, San Tan Charter

I interviewed my grandfather, Robert Scripter, a Vietnam veteran. From February 1970 until December 1971, he served in the U.S. Army with his last rank as Sergeant E5, Military Occupation Series (MOS) Code 11B40 light weapons infantry.

He received an Honorable Discharge, a Bronze Star medal, a Combat Infantryman badge, a Vietnam Campaign medal, and a Vietnam Service medal. For the first three months while in Vietnam, he was part of the 25th Infantry Division. He was involved with various missions west of Saigon, along the Cambodian border, in an area called Elephant’s Ear. He did clearing and sweeping of small villages, clearing the Michelin Rubber Plantation with a company-size unit of US tanks while checking and searching routes from the Ho Chi Minh trail. He was a point man, radio man, and squad leader.

For the last nine months, he was in the 23rd Infantry Division, also known as the Americal Division. At that time, he was involved with various missions south of the demilitarized zone, west of Da Nang, along the Laos border. He did the clearing and sweeping of small villages and guarded evacuation routes of the Khe Sahn U.S. base. He also did rescue missions for downed US helicopters, etc. His duties were as a M60 machine gun squad leader and platoon leader.

When he returned to the U.S. from Vietnam, he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, as a communications chief for a company of Armored Personnel Carriers. He assigned specialists to do communication management on the Armored Personnel Carriers.

My grandpa said when he returned home, it was a very sad reception received by veterans from most US citizens everywhere. There was no respect for soldiers, and they were treated very poorly. The U.S. and world news organizations reported the worst stories possible in newspapers and on television. There were very few job opportunities available to them. He said it was a very unpopular war; our soldiers were thought of as baby killers and drug addicts. He remembers some soldiers would change out of their uniforms when traveling home to avoid being recognized at airports and train stations.

Today, he said the American military veteran is treated well, even the old Vietnam veterans like himself. He said it seemed to be a long time coming, and now the veterans are shown much respect and are usually greeted with, “Thank you for your service.” He said he is sure that no matter what happened back then or now, US veterans would still do what they had to do for the love of their country, families, and our freedom.