Thank you for sharing

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Last week I had the honor of attending a special screening of the National Geographic Channel’s documentary “Brothers in War” at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, La.

The story was compelling to say the least, but what made it so special was being able to interview one of the veterans featured in the film, John Young.

During my time working on this story, I discovered Vietnam veterans are a different breed of men.

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I grew up hearing stories of World War II from my grandfather and stories of the Korean conflict from family friends, but until now, I had never met a Vietnam veteran who would so openly talk about his experience.

As the documentary touched on, these men didn’t come home to victory parades and kisses from young women in Times Square.

Instead, they came home to protestors and jeers. They were spit upon and called “baby killers.”

After living through some horrific moments that a majority of Americans can’t even imagine, these soldiers were treated like criminals when they returned to the U.S.

This treatment created a generation of veterans who remained silent and I don’t blame them.

It was amazing to see all these veterans in the movie talk so openly about what they saw and experienced.

They shared moments of not only sadness, but also happiness. They gave me a glimpse into their lives before, during and after the war and for that I am grateful.

It is difficult to share moments of your life with someone, let alone a television audience.

Before the premiere, I spoke with Young several times and not once did he hesitate to answer my questions, which I think is very brave.

There are so many amazing stories of the men who fought in that war and I thank the veterans of Charlie Company for sharing theirs.