'We can be proud of our service:' Local veterans gather for National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony

The 51st anniversary of the day the final U.S. troops left Vietnam was observed in Highland County, as a group of local veterans, their families and other members of the community gathered for a National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony Friday, March 29. 

The annual observance was held at the Hillsboro Eagles 1161 Aerie and at the Highland County Veterans Memorial.  

According to Vietnamwar50th.com, “Across the Nation, Americans are uniting to thank and honor Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice. This is the main focus of The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration — a national 50th anniversary commemoration, authorized by Congress, established under the secretary of defense, and launched by President Barack Obama in 2012. Congress penned a total of five objectives, with the primary being to thank and honor our Vietnam veterans and their families, for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the Nation.”

The guest speaker for the 2024 ceremony in Highland County was a local Vietnam War veteran, U.S. Air Force Colonel (Retired) Ronald Sampson, who is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and The Ohio State University.

According to event organizer and fellow Vietnam War veteran Gerold “Buzzard” Wilkin, who introduced him, Sampson “began Air Force active duty and pilot training” in May 1967 at the Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. 

“After receiving his Air Force pilot’s training, he was assigned to fly C130 cargo aircraft,” Wilkin said. “Following C130 qualification, Ron was assigned to Taiwan, where he flew missions throughout the Southeast Asia Theater, primarily flying combat missions in Vietnam.”

Sampson’s military career also includes serving at the Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, N.C.; the Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfurt, Germany; the Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Ill.; the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium; the Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas; and the Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. (where he was the national executive director of the Civil Air Patrol). He has received numerous military decorations throughout his career.

After retiring in 1997 after 30 years of active duty, Sampson served as the Disaster Services Director for the St. Louis chapter of the American Red Cross for three years, then returned to the Air Force as a civilian at Scott AFB and led a division in the Air Mobility Command Headquarters. He retired from civil service in 2011 and moved back to Highland County with his wife, Bobbie.

Sampson’s address included both an overview of the war as well as a discussion of — and with — Vietnam veterans. 

“Thanks to all the veterans who have come here today,” he said. “Our ranks are getting thinner. It's been a while, as you well know, since that war was over. We'll keep honoring the service, as long as there's a few of us around to do that.”

Sampson referred to several books he brought with him to discuss the Vietnam War era. “A War Too Far” by David Lee Corley, which is a historical novel, points out that “our involvement began long before we really think” with the Office of Strategic Services Deer Team in May 1945. An Office of Strategic Services operative, Lt. Col. Peter Dewey, “became the first casualty in the Vietnam conflict, later to become a war,” in 1945, Sampson said.

Sampson said that the French Indochina War followed, with the U.S. assisting France and becoming “involved in what essentially was a civil war.

“We started with a military assistance group, which grew over time, got into special forces,” Sampson said. “That's when the Green Berets were created.”  

“We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young” by Harold G. Moore details the Battle of Ia Drang, which occurred in 1965. Sampson said this “was the first employment of air mobile infantry helicopters” and “the first time that we ran up against a North Vietnamese regular Army division-size unit. 

“We were, undoubtedly, bloodied during that battle, but we prevailed,” Sampson said. “It became real clear at that time it was going to be very costly, in terms of human life, to win that war.”

Sampson recommended several other books, including “The Best and the Brightest” by David Halberstam, “About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior” by Col. David Hackworth and “The Ravens: The Men Who Flew in America's Secret War in Laos” by Christopher Robbins, for more context from the era.

Fast-forwarding to the end of the war and the years that followed, Sampson spoke about how Vietnam veterans were rarely honored, and often disrespected, upon returning home.

“After all this time, you might ask, why do we have Vietnam Veterans Day?” he said. “We have Memorial Day that honors all those who have fallen in combat. We have Veterans Day that honors all the veterans, both alive and serving. We held parades for victory in Europe, victory in Japan, even the first Gulf War.”

But for Vietnam veterans, Sampson said, “we can debate for a long time whether we won” the war.

“So, when we came home, there were no victory parades for the majority of units that came home,” Sampson said. “The way our replacement worked, a lot of us came home one at a time. But when the major units were withdrawn, a lot of them came home and were disbanded. 

“We were treated badly when we came home, and most of us just avoided association with the Vietnam War. We didn't write about our exploits or whatever. We didn't really want to talk about it. We just came home, went about living our lives without ceremony.”

That changed in 2012, when then-President Obama established the Vietnam War Veterans Day holiday, and in 2017, when then-President Trump officially made it a national observance to “pause and recognize the service of our Vietnam veterans,” Sampson said.

He then addressed the veterans in the audience directly.

“You became a member of a brotherhood, and I'd be negligent if I didn't say sisterhood as well, that wear this tri-colored ribbon,” Sampson said. “We wear it proudly today. We wear it on uniforms, wear it on our hats. We have it on our cars, our vehicles. We can be proud of our service.

“Each March 29, we pause in recognition for the men and women who served. You’re the heroes and the patriots. Some volunteered. Most were drafted. Most of the folks that got killed over there were young men, 18 to 20 years old, but all answered the call to service. Some bear visible scars. Some have scars that are deeper and won't heal. 

“So from an old lifer — and you guys that were in Vietnam know that ‘lifer’ was not particularly a complimentary term — from an old lifer, I have to say a heartfelt thank you for your service, and welcome home,” Sampson continued. “And I pray that we have the strength and the wisdom to preserve that home that you came to home to. It's going to take work.” 

Sampson then invited the veterans in the audience to introduce themselves, if they felt comfortable doing so — “I no longer have authority to give orders,” he joked — and share when and where they served. 

Those in attendance included:

• Jerry Davis, who served in the military from 1966-69, including “spending the winter in Vietnam in 1968,” in the Transportation Battalion.

• Chuck Emery, who served in the Army in the 4th Infantry Division Vietnam from 1968-69. 

• Gary Heaton, who served in the Army in the 9th Infantry Division at the Mekong Delta and Cambodia. 

• Steven Kuhbander, who served in the Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Vietnam War.

• Charlie Roberts, who served in the Army in the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam from 1970-71.

• Frank Terwilliger, who served with the Navy Seabees in Vietnam from 1966-70.

• Richard Tissot, who served in the Army in Germany from 1957-59. 

• Jim Vinson, who served from 1971-75. “I was on the evacuation, up in the HMH [Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron] 461, on the USS Okinawa and temporarily assigned to the USS America,” he said.

• Wilkin, who served with the “Big Red One” 1st Infantry Division as a combat engineer. “I was the first one drafted in Highland County, and they all said, ‘well, why'd they pick you?’ and I said ‘my name was in the paper too many times,’” he joked. 

Prior to hearing from Sampson, the Highland County Veterans Honor Guard posted the colors and led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. Wilkin thanked the Honor Guard for their participation Friday.

“Any of our activities that’s got something to do with veterans, the Highland County Veterans Honor Guard are Johnny-on-the-spot,” Wilkin said. “I certainly appreciate their attendance today as well.”

During his opening remarks, Wilkin asked those present to hold a moment of silence for POW/MIA soldiers. He also encouraged everyone to review the “Fallen Sons of Highland County” book and plaque memorializing those killed in the war and other pamphlets, books, photo albums and magazines about the Vietnam War that were on display Friday. 

“There is one statistic I'd like to bring up to you, and it's not a good one,” Wilkin said. “The only president that I know of that never had a war during his time serving in the United States as the president was Jimmy Carter. 

“We're a warring nation. We're always at war. Either one president starts it, another one stops it or whatever, so on and so forth, but that's not a real pretty statistic when you stop and think about it. It's a shame that we're on the verge of another one.”

After giving an overview of the ceremony activities, Wilkin invited Highland County Auditor Alex Butler to read a proclamation on behalf of the Highland County Commissioners office. (Commissioner Brad Roades was also among those in attendance.) 

“The Vietnam era was before I was born, but I've read a lot and seen documentaries and think I have a pretty good grasp of what was going on in our country during that time,” Butler said. “It's very sad to me how the veteran community was treated when they came back. 

“I just want to say, on behalf of me and the entire nation, thank you, congratulations on the job well done and welcome home.”

Butler then read the proclamation, which was also read at the March 27 county commission meeting.

From there, the crowd heard from Wilkin and Sampson, before moving to the Highland County Veterans Memorial. Chuck and Dick Emery placed a wreath on the memorial, and Sampson read the names of the “Fallen Sons of Highland County” who lost their lives in the war:

• Pfc. David Lynn McConnaughey of Hillsboro, Feb. 18, 1944—March 30, 1966;

• SPC4 Robert Charles Wing of Greenfield, Feb. 13, 1941—Oct. 13, 1967;

• 1Lt. Charles Robert Lovedahl of Lynchburg, Oct. 3, 1936—March 21, 1968;

• SPC4 John Raymond Crouse of Hillsboro, Aug. 25, 1943—May 5, 1968;

• Pfc. Mark Loren Hook of Hillsboro Sept. 23, 1949—Aug. 28, 1968;

• Capt. Cary Francis McAfee of Hillsboro, March 22, 1938—Sept. 14, 1968;

• Pfc. Neil Jay Morris of Greenfield, March 3, 1947—Oct. 15, 1968;

• SFC William Ernest Brown of Hillsboro, Feb. 8, 1948—Nov. 15, 1968;

• A01 Ollie James Gross of Hillsboro, June 25, 1944—April 23, 1969;

• SPC4 Donald Wayne Priest, Jr. of Leesburg, Sept. 9, 1948—May 14, 1969; and

• Cpl. James Harold Waulk of Greenfield, March 16, 1950—Feb. 20, 1970.

The Highland County Veterans Honor Guard performed a 21-gun salute, followed by the playing of “Taps.” The group then returned to the Eagles to view the display that included the “Fallen Sons of Highland County” book and plaque memorializing those killed in the war and other pamphlets, books and magazines about the Vietnam War. They also enjoyed refreshments and shared stories about their experiences.

“We will repeat this every year on this day, so mark it on your calendars,” Wilkin said.  

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