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“For the first time, they were coming up and saying thank you.”
Paul told me.
“I went there for my uncles,” Jim told me. “They are no longer alive. But we
provided them spiritual and emotional honor.”
Last week, Suzi De Graf traveled with fifteen of our area veterans to LZ
Lambeau. “LZ” stands for Landing Zone. Suzi told me about the event in Green
Bay which honored the Vietnam Veterans who never received the warm welcome
home they deserved.
Organizers estimated over 70,000 people attended some part of the three day
event, including 1,244 motorcycle riders, many of whom traveled from
LaCrosse, to pay tribute to the 1,244 Wisconsin Vietnam veterans or Vietnam
era veterans who were killed or still missing in action.
As a special tribute to our Vietnam Veterans, Wisconsin Public Television,
the Ho-Chunk Nation and other funders teamed up to create “Wisconsin Vietnam
War Stories”, a three-part series that debuted this week on Public
Television. Over 100 veterans across the state shared their stories for the
documentary, including Tomah’s own Andrew Thundercloud.
The sharing and preserving stories is a tradition of the Native American
Culture. Gathering together and sharing stories of veteran is the purpose of
the Talking Circle started by members of the Ho-Chunk nation. The Talking
Circle brings balance back to the warrior’s life; to make it possible once
again for the warrior to live in peace and be physically, spiritually,
emotionally and mentally healthy.
I am proud to have joined my Ho-Chunk sisters of the Ladies Auxiliary Unit
129 of the Andrew Blackhawk American Legion in forming the Veterans Talking
Circle. The women worked hard to create a protected place for veterans of
all eras and branches of service to share their experiences and concerns in
a compassionate and respectful setting.
By listening and sharing from the heart, each veteran gives and receives
affirmation of their valuable service contributions. The bonds they build in
the Talking Circle help to heal these warriors in mind, body and spirit. And
it was this bond that took sixteen friends to LZ Lambeau.
The healing in Green Bay took place in many ways. One father of a man who
had been on suicide watch at the VA hospital in Tomah shared how important
the trip was for his son. “It was my son in the Blind Side and you are like
Sandra Bullock,” he told Suzi De Graf. “This experience has completely
changed his life.”
Although I wanted to attend the event, I have been home doing some healing
of my own after my second knee replacement surgery. But through the stories
I began to understand the intense emotion shared among those who gathered in
Lambeau Field. As the veterans’ stories were shared, tears were shed
revealing emotions still raw even after 40 years. But remembering also
brought healing.
What a privilege it must have been to participate in LZ Lambeau; to pay
tribute to our fallen warriors and to salute our fellow Wisconsinites who
served and were often not honored when they returned stateside. We honor
them by preserving their stories and remembering the debt we can never
repay.
“It was beautiful. Never, ever, have I seen anything like it. A crowd of
30,000 people. The Wisconsin National Guard saluting the veterans. The
welcome home was so emotional. The healing has begun.”
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