When Marine Cpl. Ted Streete came home from war he was given instructions: Change out of your uniform before you board a commercial flight.
"I changed so no one knew who I was," he said. "We had been warned that we may run into [protestors], so it'd be best if we found a place to change."
That was nearly 47 years ago. But soon, Streete will finally get a proper "Welcome Home."
Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Thursday will host a homecoming celebration for more than 1,000 Vietnam veterans. The events at the Washington base will include a parade, opportunities to reconnect with their units and a pinning ceremony.
The salute at Joint Base Lewis-McChord is one in a growing trend of welcome-home events geared specifically for Vietnam veterans. Military installations as well as local communities are getting involved. A Facebook group called "Thank Vietnam Veterans who never received a 'Welcome Home' " has almost 58,000 followers.
Politicians have had a hand in it, too. In the 2008 defense authorization bill, lawmakers authorized a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.
Then, in 2012, President Obama issued a proclamation calling for a 13-year commemoration of the war lasting through Nov. 11, 2025. He called on federal, local and state leaders to honor service members and their families.
Gradually, military installations and units have caught on and adopted their own ways of providing a proper welcome home.
Vietnam-era veterans "didn't have the homecomings and the outpouring of support that maybe this generation did," said Brig. Gen. Kurt Ryan, commander of the 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command. "That's unfortunate that they had to experience that. We need to celebrate their service."
The 593rd ESC, which is part of I Corps, is in charge of planning and executing the day's festivities at JBLM.
Veterans from that era — those who served in Vietnam and also those who wore the uniform around the world — answered the nation's call whether they enlisted or were drafted, Ryan said.
"Over 3 million Americans fought in Vietnam, and we lost nearly 58,000 killed in action during that war as well," he said. "We want to honor them so they understand just how much this generation and, really, this nation, supports them and loves them.
"It wasn't just those who served in Southeast Asia during the war. It's those who defended in Europe, those who flew patrols over the Arctic Circle, those who served in Korea on the [demilitarized zone]. They, too, may not have been recognized by their nation because of some of the sentiment of the nation at the time."
These men and women served, Ryan said, and "they did it without question, and we want to recognize them."
Streete, who served in Vietnam from October 1966 to November 1967, plans to attend the Lewis-McChord salute.
"It means the world to me," he said. "We fought for this country, and we are finally getting recognized for the job that we have done."
Streete served in the Marine Corps for 30 years, retiring as a sergeant major in 1990.
"It's hard to put into words what it means," he said. "It's pride, for one thing. I'm honored to have served."
Soldiers at Fort Irwin, California, host an annual welcome-home event for Vietnam vets. In 2012, soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, hosted one, and the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, did the same in 2009. This spring, the city of Wallingford, Connecticut, held a welcome-home for its Vietnam vets.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, who received the Medal of Honor Sept. 15, 48 years after his actions in Vietnam, said these events are a "great gesture."
"What it amounts to is the country trying to apologize to the Vietnam veterans for what they experienced when they were returning from Vietnam at that time," said Adkins, who served three tours there. "It's like a belated birthday card."
Ryan said he hopes the veterans who attend the celebration on post will leave knowing the nation is proud of them.
"We recognize it was a long time ago that many of them left their homes and their fathers and mothers and went and did this business for our nation," he said. "We're proud of them and we thank them for their service. Many of them were drafted, but they still rucked up and did their job and came home."
Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.
