Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes celebrate Vietnam veterans
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Brigadier General Hal Stearns began a Veteran’s Day talk to Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Vietnam Vets by telling about a letter Myron Mike Ranney wrote to Major Dick Winters.
The letter read, “I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, ‘Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?’
Grandpa said, ‘No, I served in a company of heroes.’”
“That’s how I feel,” Stearns said, gesturing to the room packed with veterans and their families.
He said 336 tribal members from the Flathead reservation served in Vietnam, and 226 of those men and women are still alive. Asking all the veterans to stand, Stearns led the crowd in applause.
Throughout his talk, Stearns message was of honoring those Americans who served in the armed forces.
Stearns also mentioned attending the dedication of the Grateful Nation of Montana memorial to fallen Montana soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on Nov. 4 on the University of Montana campus. The 40 fallen soldiers’ names are inscribed on granite as a heart-wrenching reminder of the war.
“Freedom is not free; it’s paid for by those who serve,” Stearns stated.
Stearns was speaking on “11-11-11,” as the CSKT honored tribal Vietnam vets at a ceremony and lunch at the Joe McDonald Health and Fitness Center on the Salish Kootenai College Campus.
Many eyes were wet as Vietnam vets remembered their service, and the mood was somber. After a brief welcome and thank-you from CSKT Tribal Chairman Bud Moran, the event began with a prayer from Salish Elder Tony Incashola, both veterans.
“We must never forget what veterans have done for us,” Incashola said. “We must continue to honor them, not on a yearly basis but on a daily basis.”
CSKT Tribal councilperson Rueben Mathias also spoke.
“Our people have been fighting for our country since the beginning,” Mathias said.
Although he’s not a veteran, Mathias said he was so proud of all the vets.
“I’ve seen some of my relatives go to Vietnam,” he said, “and they were never, ever the same after Vietnam.”
Elder Octave Finley led a prayer before the prime rib lunch. After lunch the CSKT Tribal Council presented a Pendleton blanket to each Vietnam veteran. Stearns shook each veteran’s hand and posed for pictures.
Honoring the Vietnam vets might make up for some of the bad treatment, such as being spit on, ignored or treated as second-class citizens, they received when they returned to the United States from Asia.
