Veterans Receive Overdue Recognition

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Ray Cravens of Lebanon was excited to attend the welcome home he waited for more than 30 years.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Thousands of Vietnam Veterans from all over the country got a taste of southern hospitality this weekend. The military's top-brass at Fort Campbell pulled together a first of its kind hero's homecoming.

Falling into formation is easier when you're 20-something than when you're 60-something. But nothing, not even missing a leg was going to keep Ray Cravens of Lebanon from missing the welcome home he waited for more than 30 years.

"It's easier to do when you're 20-something than when you're 30-something," said First Sergeant Jerry Helton, 101st Airborne, 3rd Brigade, Rakkasans.

It was as if time had stood still. Hundreds of veterans from all branches of the military filed before a cheering crowd for a long overdue "thank you."

The war that spanned 16 years brought a great divide between soldier and civilian.

"Ya know, with the spitting in the face and the -- getting off the plane and people cussing you and screaming at you -- calling you baby killers...," recalled Ray Cravens a disabled veteran.

But Sunday was a time for celebration and healing, and it was a generational criss-crossing of war stories.

"Can it ever be taken away from (them)? No, but I'm pretty sure there's a sense of pride that can be regained by everyone taking notice, and saying, 'We're sorry for what we had done to you,'" said Jerry Helton with the 101^st Airborne.

These men and women helped shape history. Don Jenkins of Morgantown, Ky holds the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism.

"We was at a firefight all night long, and some guys (were) wounded. And I went out and drug three guys back. In March of '71, President Nixon presented me with the Medal of Honor," said Don Jenkins, Former Staff Sergeant and Holder of Congressional Medal of Honor.

Sunday was the first and only formal appreciation ceremony for Vietnam veterans. Staffers at Fort Campbell are hopeful other military posts will follow suit.