HARLINGEN — Sheri Smith gave a heart-wrenching delivery of the Star-Spangled Banner Wednesday morning at the Harlingen VA Outpatient Clinic, where veterans and their families gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.
Her voice sailed into the chilly morning as veterans stood with canes and black caps and listened closely, their somber faces reflecting years of life and struggle, the private anguish, the enduring pride and the joys of simple pleasures.
And they appreciated it so much.
“I love it so much,” said Sam Cardenas, president of Vietnam Veterans of America chapter 856.
“It was very heartfelt,” Cardenas said. “I about cried. Most people when they sing the Star-Spangled Banner it’s more of a show for an event. This lady sang it from the heart.”
The date March 29 has a strong significance for many people connected to the Vietnam War. It was on that date in 1973 that the United States ended its involvement in Vietnam.
“Our motto has always been, ‘Welcome Home,’” said Guillermo Chapa, first vice-president of Chapter 856.
“I flew in to Tacoma, and it was just everyone went their way,” said Chapa, who was an Air Force photographer in the thick of the fighting.
“We were so young and naïve,” he said. “We were very glad to get home alive because there were 50,000 that didn’t make it. That was very hard.”
Jim Gilmour, 72, didn’t get to hear the song Wednesday, but he understood the brokenness of which it sang so eloquently.
“I went to New York City for an interview,” said Gilmour, who served with the U.S. Army’s 173d Airborne in Vietnam.
“I had to be in uniform to go,” he said. “I was walking down 42nd Street in Manhattan, and two guys spit on me.”
Cardenas, who spent four years in the Marine Corps, was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, when he was sent to Vietnam.
Upon finishing his tour, he returned back to that base. When he went into Jacksonville, signs on the doors of some establishments dealt him a burning injury: “No Vietnam veterans are welcome.”
Wednesday he and his fellow veterans were very welcome at the Harlingen VA clinic.
“I believe this is a lot of closure for some people,” he said.
To see more, view Brownsville Herald photojournalist Denise Cathey’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: Veterans gather for 50th anniversary of Vietnam War at Harlingen VA Clinic
