East Bay veterans group started as outcasts

MercuryNews.com: East Bay veterans group started as outcasts

Today the Viet Nam Veterans of the Diablo Valley are a big part of the East Bay's military community, often a presence at events honoring past and present veterans in addition to finding help for those in need.

But that's not how it began 20 years ago. When Vietnam veterans returned from war, many treated them as outcasts.

"The Vietnam veterans did not get a good welcome home," said the group's co-founder Dennis Marguet, 63, of Cascade, Idaho.

Marguet, who served in the Marines, remembers that time well. Protesters called them "baby killers" and community college teachers didn't like the veterans on campus. An employment specialist told him not to note his war experience to improve his chances of finding work.

He recalls visiting a Southern California post of Veterans of Foreign Wars, the large veterans organization chartered in 1899. He was at the bar when a World War II veteran asked which war he had served in. Marguet told him, and "He said 'I was in the war we won.' Then he got up and left."

That negativity led to the Diablo Valley group's creation outside the more established veteran groups not specific to individual wars. The group is going strong 20 years later with 130 active members who meet monthly to keep their close bond going.

"Veterans learned that you don't tell people you were a Vietnam vet," said Marguet.

Current President Jerry Yahiro, 67, an early member from Danville, concurred. Like Marguet, he had not previously been involved with a veterans group.

"Traditional organizations did not open their arms to welcome us," said Yahiro, an Army mortar platoon leader. "It was the general attitude. The Vietnam War was not a popular war."

The group started after Marguet, living in Pleasanton, contacted the Vietnam Veterans of America, a national organization started for advocacy in 1978, during a time its leaders say the government and established veteran groups were not addressing their problems. Today the group has more than 65,000 members in 630 chapters. They helped him connect with Norm Mahalich, a former Marine pilot living in Diablo, who had also contacted them.

Mahalich was already a member of the VFW and other organizations and felt accepted, but there weren't many others from his war. Their first meeting of Vietnam-era veterans drew more than 100.

"What they needed was to feel safe, to feel wanted, to feel compassion and unconditional acceptance," said Mahalich, 68, a retired commercial airline pilot now living in Placerville. "A lot of Vietnam veterans were hiding in the woodwork."

Instead of joining the national Vietnam group, they decided to be independent, as a similar group in Monterey County had done. Marguet said they stayed out of politics, focusing on camaraderie and working to improve the image of Vietnam veterans.

Too often, the veterans group members said, public perception painted those who served in Vietnam as drug abusers, alcoholics, homeless and with mental problems.

Among this group's work has been the push for construction of the All Wars Memorial in Danville's Oak Hill Park. They are also part of holiday celebrations, such as hosting the Memorial Day event at the park.

When today's military members come home on leave, or if a member of the military is killed in action, their members are among the many groups involved to greet them, or to support their families. Many are involved with the East Bay Stand Down, a days-long event held every two years in a temporary camp where veterans can learn about residential programs, employment and other help.

"Especially for Vietnam veterans, we do not want anyone treated the way we got treated," said Yahiro.

Their monthly dinners at the Crow Canyon Country Club are also a time to bond, both mixing the heavy and lighthearted. It always includes an empty table to represent those missing in action and prisoners of war. Attendees introduce themselves, and while the vast majority are men, there are also women who worked as Navy nurses and Army workers who ran orphanages and other services.

During their 20th anniversary celebration meeting on Thursday, members talked of the bond they felt, hard times they have faced, and remembering those who died in and after the war.

Marguet, a retired insurance agent and broker, and Yahiro, a retired phone company manager, said much has changed since they returned from war. Yahiro notes Iraq and Afghanistan veterans receive warm welcomes. Both he and Marguet also said divides with other veteran generations have improved, with Vietnam vets also taking leadership of the larger veteran groups as they age.

Yahiro, who had relatives in the Japanese-American World War II fighting groups, is part of a VFW Nisei post, while Marguet is part of the VFW and American Legion.

"It's gotten a lot better," said Marguet. "Now you can go out, wear our uniform and be proud."