Vietnam Vets thanked for service and sacrifice

NortJersey.com: Vietnam Vets thanked for service and sacrifice
HOLMDEL — Joe Piacenti felt like Americans had gone on with life, forgetting him and all the other soldiers at war in Vietnam, when he returned to the United States in 1969.

"Only your family and friends cared about you," he said Saturday, following a ceremony at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial where he was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal.

"We weren’t really appreciated," the River Vale resident recalled.

On Saturday, those feelings were behind him. Piacenti beamed as bright as the blue skies and warm sun that seemed to shine in approval of the dozens of war veterans and about 300 of their supporters participating in the Vietnam Veterans’ Remembrance Day ceremony.

Most of the soldiers honored had served in Vietnam, though medals were also given to men and women who served in Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and the Korean War.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-Hopewell Township, praised the memorial site, where reflective panels hold the names of New Jersey soldiers who died in Vietnam, and thanked the service men and women "for having us at your sacred place — a place of reflection" and called the site a national treasure because it is also the location for a memorial museum that holds artifacts, documents and testimony on the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1959 through 1973.

The state Legislature 20 years ago set aside May 7 to make clear "New Jersey would never forget its Vietnam Veterans," Holt said.

Many of the military’s special forces work unheralded, Holt said, until they "do something stupendous ... like getting bin Laden and decapitating al-Qaida," which prompted a cheer of "Whooo!" and applause from the crowd.

During the ceremony, various groups — including the American Gold Star Mothers, who represent family members of soldiers killed in war, and the Ukrainian American Post 30 from Freehold — presented colorful wreaths to honor those who served.

Families cheered as the veterans were called to receive their pins. Dozens of vets wore vests covered with POW-MIA, U.S. Marine Corps and other patches.

Piacenti, 63, the only Bergen County veteran at the ceremony, served in 1968 and 1969. He said he was happy to receive the honor, but he pointed at the memorial wall that encircled the ceremony and said "these are the real heroes," the soldiers that died.

He said this week’s news about Osama bin Laden’s capture and assassination bolstered the pride he feels in the military. "This goes to show you what kind of military we really have and I praise the president."

Piacenti declined to discuss his experiences in Vietnam saying "most veterans want to be anonymous."