Vietnam vets receive local honor

Gregory Lopez and Harry Black remember the way they were treated when they returned from their tours in Vietnam, hence their appreciation for the Clovis city commission proclaiming Friday as Vietnam Veterans Day in Clovis.

"I sure wish we received a better welcome (when returning from Vietnam)," said Lopez, 66, of Clovis, who served in the 25th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army from 1969 to March 1970 in the Vietnam War.

"When I came home (from Vietnam) being a veteran didn't mean much to people," said Black, 80, of Portales, who served in the U.S. Air Force in 1966 and 1967 as a parachute rigger during the Vietnam War. "I got spit at.

"It's nice to have a day of recognition now."

There are 799 vets enrolled with the Curry County VA and 179 enrolled with the Roosevelt County VA, according to Barbara Moore, public affairs officer for the Amarillo VA Healthcare system.

Lopez hopes Vietnam Veterans Day will encourage area vets to keep up their faith, health and well-being. He worked for the city of Clovis for about 29 years and retired about 13 years ago. He said he fully supports Vietnam Veterans Day and attends every Veterans Day parade in Clovis.

"It was hard. I'm glad to be alive. I lost quite a few friends over there. This day is a big deal to me," Lopez said.

Black said serving in Vietnam taught him to be proud of what he has.

Clovis City Commissioner Fidel Madrid hopes the day — a first in Clovis — will make the public more aware of the service U.S. veterans provided the country during the war. He believes Vietnam vets deserve to be treated with more dignity.

Madrid said he thought about his father Sabino Madrid Jr., who served the nation as a U.S. marine during World War II, as he read the Vietnam Veteran's Day proclamation at Thursday's city commission meeting.

He said he also thought about what veterans experienced when returning home after the war.

"It was kind of heartbreaking," said Madrid, with emotion heavy in his voice. "When the veterans came back they were treated pretty bad. They never volunteered to go out there. A lot of those men were drafted and forced into war. These guys should have been treated better."

Madrid, who served in the National Guard from 1966 to 1976, said he did not fight in Vietnam, but knows many men who did.

Madrid, who has spent most of his life in Clovis, said he does not believe Vietnam vets in Clovis were not treated as poorly as vets were in other places, especially in big cities.