Return to Vietnam: The Cemetery for the fallen

On their historical honor flight to Vietnam, the 52 local veterans travel to the countryside and foothills outside of De Nang where the heavy battles took place during the war.

As Jeff Alexander explains – this was a day that really put the price of war into perspective.

During the Vietnam War, more than 58,000 American Troops sacrificed their lives. And on the other side, more than 800,000.

The vets went to visit a cemetery for the fallen Viet Cong soldiers. They had a variety of different reactions and frustrations over the ending of the war.

Michael Morse remembers the terrors war: “I think a lot of the troops, and maybe I’m just speaking out of turn here, but we figured the figures that were given to Washington weren’t the true figures because certain people didn’t want this to end. I think that’s part of the trip coming back is the unfinished part of it. We came and how often we, the U.S., come in to a conflict and walked away without a win. I think that kind of sticks to you pretty bad.”

Seeing the cemetery really gave the Veterans the time to pay their respects for those who did not come home. This was a huge stepping stone for their journey.

Morris Fagg reminisces his injuries and thinks about how lucky he is to be alive and on this trip. He says: “I got an infection in my back from carrying the radio and I was there for a week. That was probably the worst part. We had people out there in the field, but seeing all the damage in the hospitals, that was hard to see.”

The troops are feeling some guilt as they are enjoying the tropical weather on their vacation knowing their families are home in the bitter cold. They smile and recollect their past horrors and look forward to the days to come.