LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After visiting the Vietnam Wall, witnessing the changing of the guard, and touring the nation's Capitol in a whirlwind trip, veterans returning from an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. received something many had never experienced before: a hero's welcome home.
The veterans' plane landed to a water salute at the airport, with bagpipes playing as crowds gathered to greet them. For many of these servicemen, it was their first proper welcome home after serving the country decades ago.
"I just can't wait to see his face because I don't think he knows all the people here to support him," said Amanda Spencer, waiting in the crowd for her dad's return home.
The scene was a stark contrast to their original homecoming experiences. During the anti-war environment of the Vietnam era, many veterans were met with scorn and criticism instead of gratitude, making their adjustment to civilian life even more complicated.
"Didn't expect this when I got back," said Glen Dattilo, a veteran. When asked how the homecoming made him feel, he answered, teary-eyed, "Like it was all worth it. Yeah, it was uh, it's something else. It's great that people care so much that we did what we did."
James Linville, another veteran, shared his emotion too.
"Oh I didn't have a welcome home….until tonight," Linville said.
The treatment veterans received upon their original return from service was painful for many.
"The way they were treated when they came home is the most disheartening thing of all. I came in through New Jersey and even though I didn't go to Vietnam, but they spit on my face too," said Mike Breiner, a veteran stationed in Germany during the Vietnam War.
David Brown shared a similar experience.
"When I came back, I was ashamed to wear my uniform home because of protesters at the airport in Seattle ... so for all of this, I'm overwhelmed by it, I can't believe it, I never got a welcome home, is what I'm saying, but today I did and that's what it meant to me," Brown said.
Decades later, the airport was lined with fanfare just for them. Well-wishers cheering, children waving American flags, and wives anxiously waiting for their sweethearts created scenes of homecomings the veterans always wished they'd received.
Sara Jane Faulkner, a veteran's wife, was moved to tears by the experience.
"He's just a true American hero that didn't get a welcome home till tonight," Faulkner said of her husband Gary.
For these veterans, the Honor Flight experience and homecoming celebration helped heal wounds that had never properly closed.
"We're all one, and it's a good thing. It's been a fun day, been a real fun day," Dattilo said.
