A simple thank-you: Walk of Honor pays tribute to veterans
Daniel Gaita served three tours in the US Marines from 1992 to 1996 in Somalia,
Bosnia and Haiti, respectively, and his return home was underscored by a warm welcome:
“Homecoming following our deployment to Somalia, Bosnia and Haiti with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit was overwhelming... Following arrival at port, we loaded onto buses for the trip back to Camp Lejeune, NC (2nd Marine Division). Almost every overpass along the highway was filled with ‘welcome home’ banners, flags and local residents waving and cheering.”
To Gatia, it was the type of experience that made serving the country a true heartfelt honor. “We all received a hero’s welcome, but we didn’t think of ourselves as heroes.”
The term “veteran” has carried a multitude of cultural meanings and shifting sentiments over the years, many of which have evoked powerful emotions in U.S. citizens.
During the Sixties, they were often regarded with disdain, and their welcome was in many cases cold at best. Now, however, as the Iraq war stretches into its seventh year, “Support our troops” bumper stickers can be seen on cars all over the country, indicating a shift in cultural perspective regarding veterans since the 1960s and 70s.
What Paul Stasny experienced when he returned home from two tours in Vietnam was anything but a warm welcome.
“There were people protesting at the airport and at the military base. They had signs; they were throwing garbage and rocks. It was pretty disheartening, considering that I put my life on the line for my country and my flag.” According to Stasny, the negative reception he and his fellow soldiers received
didn’t bother him at the time, but now that a few decades have passed, it saddens him.
“There were no parades for us... In all the years since I’ve come back, I think three people have thanked me for my service.” Stasny says he still loves the United States and that he’d fight for his country again, given the chance.
Many people used to lump soldiers in with the administration behind a war, but now a clear distinction is made between the war and those who fight it. Regardless of whether or not someone agrees with why we’re fighting, they invariably support the young men and women giving their lives and time to
serve this country.
“We don’t really want parades or big celebrations,” Stasny explained. “I think most of all, what a veteran wants is a simple thank you.”
The third annual Danbury Walk of Honor, at the Danbury Green on September 12 at noon, is set to commemorate and thank United States war veterans and the sacrifice that each and every one of them has made for this country.
The event, organized by the Elks Lodge and City Center Danbury, is a mile-long walk through town. The walk might symbolize the thousands of miles walked by soldiers in every conflict, or their journey through time, as each generation volunteers brave men and women in service of the country.
Some of the veterans in the United States served over sixty years ago, and while the impact of the war that they fought and won is forgotten by some, according to the Danbury Elks website: “As long as there are veterans, the Elks will never forget them,”
Ramone Keough served as a medic in World War II and when asked of his experience returning home, his memory seemingly uninhibited by the fog of decades, he had this to say: “There were no big celebrations when I came back.
I was discharged in June of 1945, and all of the celebrations and parades where you see the guys getting off boats and kissing their girls, those happened back in April and May.” It felt great anyway, said Keough. “My mom was happy to see me.” He says he went back to work selling shoes and then enrolled in college at Providence University in Rhode Island.
Veterans come from all walks of life and from a diverse array of generations. No veteran has the same experience while they’re deployed, or when they come home, and the veterans themselves are not the only people affected by the sacrifices they make.
Jonathan Qualtieri was killed by a roadside IED (improvised explosive device) in Iraq. He sacrificed his life for his country, though the sacrifice was not his exclusively.
His sister Andrea says that while the sacrifice was not worth it for her personally, she feels that it was worth it in the grand scheme of things.
“I always would have wanted one more minute, one more drink, one more laugh,” she says of her brother. Despite the tragedy, Andrea has found a way to learn from the experience: “Jon’s death has taught me so much about life, how precious and short it can be… I’m a better person since he died, but moreover, I am a better person because he lived.”
