By Amy Ryan
February 11, 2010
When Wisconsin soldiers returned home in January after fighting in
Iraq, they were greeted by crowds of supporters. Local media were
there to record the event as families were reunited with hugs and happy tears.
Forty years ago, Schofield resident Tom Lawrence came home from
Vietnam to a very different scene.
"It was thinly disguised hostility," said Lawrence, 66. "Even if you
weren't in uniform, you still had short hair and shined shoes. Most
people could pick up you were military, and people were speaking
their mind. They were anti-war."
Lawrence served two one-year tours with the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, one
in 1966 and another in 1968. Like other Vietnam War-era soldiers,
sailors and airmen, he was sent back to the U.S. almost immediately
after being discharged.
"For a lot of guys, your DEROS (date of expected return from
overseas) date comes up, and a few hours later you're back in the
States, with dirt from Vietnam still under your fingernails," he said.
Joseph Kelbley, 69, of Kronenwetter had a similar experience after
one tour with the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1964 and two years of
service in France and Germany.
"When I came back from Germany, our major told us to take our
uniforms off and wear civilian clothes. You took your uniforms off,
and that was it," he said. "It's hard to understand. You've been over
there for a year, and you're supposed to take off your uniform and
forget that year happened, but you can't."
Lawrence stayed in California for years before returning to Wisconsin
and working at the Weston Steam Plant. Kelbley said there were no
jobs available when he returned to central Wisconsin. He found work
at a maple sugar bush and later owned a tavern.
Neither Lawrence nor Kelbley resents the attention the troops receive
today, however.
"I wish we could have had that, but I'm glad for them," Lawrence, now
retired, said. "The way vets are being treated (now), it's giving us
permission to talk about what we went through."
Times were very different for troops in Vietnam. At that time, cell
phones and e-mail didn't exist, causing a disconnect between family
members. While Kelbley was overseas, both of his sisters got married
and his grandfather died. He learned of the events from letters from
his mother, which he received every 45 days or so.
"You weren't in contact," he said. "Not like today."
Troops today can keep in touch with their families through e-mail,
cell phones and video conferencing, which could ease the transition
back into civilian life.
"You don't lose that footing. There's a connection to home that you
don't lose. We lost that as a group," Lawrence said. "We didn't get
newspapers or television. There was radio, but they played that
Lawrence Welk crap. You didn't know what was happening in the States."
When Lawrence and Kelbley went to Vietnam, they went as individuals
and were assigned to units that needed men. Today, troops go over
together and return together, which can be helpful, said Kelbley, now retired.
"When you come back as a unit, you can talk to each other," Kelbley
said. "When you come back alone, you forget about talking about it."
That doesn't mean troops today are any more prepared to talk about
their recent experiences.
"These guys aren't ready to talk yet," Lawrence said. "But they're
older and they have established families. Their wives are more aware
... that their husband is going to be different when he gets home."
Still, talking helps, Lawrence said.
"I was so amazed when I got into counseling. I had an anger problem;
I didn't know why. I didn't like people; I didn't know why," he said.
"But other guys were having the same problems, and as you start to
put things together, it's enlightening. The episodes started making
sense. It made life a lot easier."
It's a lesson Lawrence almost didn't learn. He said he didn't talk
much about Vietnam when he returned to the United States.
"The attitude was that you wouldn't understand," he said. "I had the
typical attitude that I didn't have a problem -- you had the problem.
I didn't get along well with people. I didn't like people. Nobody
else understood."
Lawrence got involved with the Vietnam Veterans of America in the
mid-1980s, which he said helped him.
"I was with guys who were in the same place I was. They understood
where I was coming from," he said.
Kelbley joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the same reason.
"I could be with people who had been there," he said.
Both men have remained active in the organizations. Lawrence is the
president of the local VVA chapter and is a member of the VFW Post
388 and the Navy Club. Kelbley serves with a number of service
organizations, including VFW Post 8895, American Legion Post 492,
Schofield Lions Club and the Knights of Columbus in Schofield.
Kelbley also is chairman of the Veterans Memorial Park in Rothschild,
and he works tirelessly to make sure all veterans are recognized.
"The park and the memorials are for all veterans. We need to honor
them," he said.
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