Ray Cravens of Lebanon, Tenn., wipes tears away as he and other Vietnam veterans are cheered during a ceremony welcoming them home in Fort Campbell, Ky., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009. Hundreds of veterans finally got the homecoming they never had when they returned from the Vietnam War decades ago. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Fort Campbell welcomes home Vietnam vets
By KRISTIN M. HALL (AP) – 13 hours ago
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Tears filled the eyes of some Vietnam veterans who were warmly greeted with cheers from their family and friends Sunday in an re-enactment of their original return from the war, when they were often met with angry demonstrators and harsh headlines.
The ceremony was a first for the 101st Airborne Division and the Army, said Maj. Patrick Seiber, an Army spokesman based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
"Our hope is that other units and other posts will follow our lead in having this type of ceremony," he said.
Mickey Leighton, a 72-year-old Army veteran from Naples, Fla., said listening to the applause and praise from the community was very emotional.
Leighton, who started his military career at Fort Campbell in 1956, served two tours in Vietnam including the Tet Offensive. He returned in 1972 in the midst of angry anti-war protests that often placed blame on the individual soldiers.
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