Georgia: Local citizens supported the Vietnam troops

From the Times Herald: Local citizens supported the Vietnam troops

Editor's note: This article continues The Newnan Times-Herald's series on the Vietnam War and Cowetans who served, leading to a visit in October 2011 by the half-size replica of the Vietnam Memorial wall which will be on display at the Coweta County Fairgrounds.

Anyone who lived in America during the Vietnam War felt the huge impact the struggle had on the nation.

From the way the news media covered the fighting, it too often seemed like the only people back home supporting the troops were their comrades in uniform. Almost daily, the country was swamped with pictures of huge antiwar protests. Film of every so-called American atrocity in Vietnam was aired nightly on the three American TV networks, always without context or a word of explanation from those involved.

Photos of San Francisco "flower children" dropping daisies into military rifles at antiwar protests became a cliché for the crowd that chanted "Make Love, Not War." A small minority of Vietnam veterans even organized to protest the war.

Meanwhile, Hollywood celebrities found a way to turn tragedy, suffering and sacrifice into box office gold. Among veterans then and now, none was more despised than Jane Fonda, who went to North Vietnam, posed on a North Vietnamese antiaircraft gun and made radio broadcasts in which she called American military and political officials "war criminals."

But away from America's major media centers, many communities backed the troops that went to fight and die in Vietnam. None was more supportive than Coweta County.

All during the war, troops living in or passing through Coweta were accorded the dignity and respect their effort and sacrifice had earned. And the Coweta community didn't just pay lip service to supporting the troops. Cowetans took action to show their respect for those fighting half a world away.

In March 1968, citizens of Newnan and Coweta County officially "adopted" the 132nd Helicopter Company and the 16th Transportation Corps, then forming at Fort Benning for deployment to Vietnam.

Local officials traveled to Fort Benning to meet unit commanders and troops. A few weeks later, more than 3,500 locals hosted a barbecue and celebrated the adoption with ceremonies at the Newnan National Guard Armory and the Newnan-Coweta Airport.

The unit flew some of its helicopters from Fort Benning to Newnan to show Cowetans the equipment they would be flying in Vietnam.

Once deployed in Vietnam, members of the unit sent back a picture showing a sign in the unit's company area pointing to Newnan, Ga. When the helicopter unit adopted an entire orphanage at An Tan, Vietnam, Cowetans adopted the facility, too, and showered the orphanage with cash and gifts for the children.

Former Coweta Schools Superintendent Bobby Welch was involved in the local adoption ceremonies. At the time, he said Newnan was "A very patriotic place."

That never changed.

As part of the 2011 Veterans Muster occasion, a ceremony will be held Oct. 23 to recognize the 132nd Helicopter Unit and 16th Transportation Detachment. Some surviving members of the unit are expected to attend.

The Vietnam War produced 246 Medal of Honor recipients. Two of them shared the same hometown: Newnan, Ga. This rare distinction was even noticed by President Lyndon Johnson on Jan. 16, 1969, during the Medal of Honor ceremony that included Air Force Col. Joe M. Jackson and Marine Corps Major Stephen Pless.

Not long after being presented with the nation's highest military honor, Maj. Pless and Col. Jackson were honored by Coweta citizens and given the keys to the city of Newnan, as well as numerous other gifts.

The Newnan National Guard Armory was subsequently renamed the Jackson-Pless Armory in honor of both men and dedicated in the late 1970s.

In 1988, Cowetans killed in Vietnam were honored with a plaque on the Coweta County Courthouse. The event was attended by political and military dignitaries from Coweta and across the state, including Georgia Secretary of State Max Cleland, who became a triple amputee while serving in Vietnam.

A similar memorial honoring Cowetans killed in Vietnam was erected at the Veterans Memorial Plaza in at Newnan's City Park at the corner of Jackson Street and Temple Avenue, when the plaza was dedicated in 2009.

Throughout the Vietnam War, The Newnan Times-Herald carried stories from the battle front and often included pictures sent back home from soldiers serving abroad. One of them depicted Lt. John R. Lockard of Newnan shaving in the field in 1970 while serving near Song Be, Vietnam.

Lockard remembers the picture that his mother, Hazel Lockard, who still calls Newnan home, saved for him. He also remembers the local attitude, then and now.

"Newnan is very special," Lockard said. "It had always been a very patriotic place. In many ways it reminds me of small New England towns that still revere the military tradition going back to the American Revolution.

"Newnan is among the special pockets of patriotism across the country. In all our country's wars, the Southeast has never deserted the troops, and that was always true of Newnan."

Lockard served in the Army for 23 years before retiring as Lt. Col. in 1991 and settling in Columbia, S.C. After leaving the Army he led the ROTC program at the University of South Carolina for three years.

John Lockard's father, Claire Lockard, is another Coweta military success story. He was among the first wave of U.S. soldiers to set foot on Utah Beach during the Normandy Invasion of June 6, 1944. After World War II Claire Lockard had a long career with the military and the CIA. Claire Lockard was elected Coweta's Veteran of the Year for 2006.

When the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall comes to Coweta County Oct. 20-23, the Wall, and visitors who come to pay their respects to Vietnam's fallen, will feel right at home.