School to 'welcome home' Vietnam era veterans

Denver POst: School to 'welcome home' Vietnam era veterans
Students at Prairie View High School in Henderson on Friday will present a tribute to hundreds of Vietnam-era veterans, including a program of performances, exhibits and ceremony that took a year to plan.

The "Tribute to Vietnam Era Veterans" has been driven primarily by the freshman leadership class, but also involves many volunteers from the school and the community.

In the morning, students from the high school as well as Prairie View Middle School, Thimmig Elementary and Turnberry Elementary — all in the Brighton 27J School District — will begin rotating among a variety of educational Vietnam-related exhibits, including helicopters and other military vehicles, short movies and a panel discussion among Vietnam era vets.

At about 4 p.m., an estimated 2,500 people — including at least 400 veterans from 13 states and 89 cities — will gather in the high school gym for a series of performances and presentations.

"The level of enthusiasm in the community and in the building is unlike anything I've seen in my 26 years as a teacher," said Kelly Gonzales, who teaches U.S. history at the high school and co-directed the effort along with colleague Kate Hamilton.. "I've never seen this outpouring of support."

As part of the final ceremony, each veteran will be given a special medal created by the school's art students and then participate in a red carpet "walk of honor" before a reception concludes the program.

"Our students came to us last April and said they wanted to do something for Vietnam vets," said Gonzales. "The bottom line to their rationale was that they wanted to officially welcome home these veterans, because we all know they didn't receive one 40 years ago."

Vietnam era veterans can still register for the event by either going to the website, www.namvettribute.org, or contacting Gonzales at kgonzales@sd27J.org.

This tribute is the third such event Gonzales has guided. Ten years ago, when he taught at Greeley's Northridge High School, he helped students honor World War II veterans. Five years later, students recognized those who served in the Korean conflict.

The Vietnam era represented the next step in the progression, Gonzales said.

"The main theme is 'welcome home,'" he added. "And based on conversations with veterans we talked to over the last year, many said that when they came home, they came home alone — there was nobody there but family members. So another one of the underlying themes is, 'I'll stand by you. You're not alone anymore.'"