From the left are Linda and Ray Barrett, Matt Howe, and Alycia Haus. The two couples are organizing a dinner at VFW Post 1371 in Owego to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The dinner will take place on May 9. In the photo, Haus holds a knife, which will be raffled off during the dinner and is inscribed with a dedication to Vietnam War veterans.
There is going to be a special dinner on May 9 at Owego VFW Post 1371 that will honor and commemorate the end of the Vietnam War and show appreciation for the veterans who served in that era. The free dinner is open to all Tioga County Vietnam era veterans, and begins at 1 p.m. at the VFW located at 207 Main St. in Owego.
This week marks the 40th anniversary of the end of American involvement in Vietnam. April 29, 1975 was the day when iconic images of helicopters overwhelmed with desperate evacuees were broadcast to America’s homes in the final images of the first television war. It was the end of a ten-year involvement in Vietnam that changed America at nearly every level.
The following day, April 30, 1975, was another little-remembered event. “April thirtieth was the last day we moved out of Vietnam, and two Marines died that day,” Ray Barrett said. They are believed to be the final U.S. casualties in the long war.
Barrett is an active member of the Owego Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1371 Men’s Auxiliary. He has two brothers who are Vietnam-era veterans, and recalled being more interested in whether or not he was about to be drafted on April 30, 1975. As with so many other Americans, those times are a quagmire of mixed emotions for Barrett. Perhaps most prevalent in his mind is the lack of a proper welcome home and thank you that his brothers and so many other veterans were deprived of.
With the anniversary present in his mind, Barrett wanted to do something to try to make up for the painful return that Tioga County veterans received in 1975. That was the impetus for an appreciation dinner he began organizing with Matt Howe, to honor the 40th anniversary of the end of Vietnam and the veterans who served during that time.
“They were treated so bad when they came home,” Barrett said. “This show of appreciation is long overdue.”
More than a dinner, Barrett said the commemoration of the end of Vietnam would also include a display of memorabilia from the era. Veterans are also encouraged to bring their own pictures, mementoes, and anything representative of the era they’d like to share with their fellow veterans, Barrett said.
“We want to thank them for their service,” Alycia Haus said. She tends bar in the downstairs canteen at Post 1371, and was drafted to help organize the event by her husband, Matt Howe. Haus said that ham would be served as the main course for the dinner, with all the trimmings.
Haus said that Post 1371 members had donated to the dinner, as well as several local businesses. Among the businesses donating are John’s Fine Foods, Ted Clark’s Busy Market, Thompson’s Grocery, Sweeney’s Market, Hollenbeck’s Shur Fine and Price Chopper, according to Haus. There is also a raffle of a Ka-Bar commemorative knife during the dinner.
Haus said that nobody will be turned away from the dinner, however she is asking that veterans planning on coming to the dinner contact the VFW Canteen at 687-1371 so they have an estimate on how many dinners to prepare.
