Veterans reunion celebrates 23 years of helping soldiers

When you look into the eyes of Bill Vagianos you see a hero. I don't use that term lightly. He came home from Vietnam and became an advocate for all veterans as well as working to take care of Orlando's homeless. He could have served his time with the Marines in Vietnam and then did nothing more other than just take a job, but Bill ended up with a mission that still has not ended. He is still watching the backs of his brothers.

It's no secret how I feel about Vietnam veterans and Bill is one of the greatest examples of why I adore them as much as I do.

I am very glad that Norman Moody wrote this because there are so many people working very hard to help veterans and most people never hear about them.

"The premise behind it when we started was never again will another generation of veterans be treated like that," said Bill Vagianos, the immediate past-president of the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard. "You may object to the war and the politics, but don't blame the warrior."

Veterans reunion celebrates 23 years of helping soldiers
Event aided Cocoa man, and he's been a part of it ever since
BY R. NORMAN MOODY • FLORIDA TODAY • April 19, 2010


As point man during the Vietnam War, Ken Baker kept a watchful eye for danger at the front of foot patrols.

After he came home critically injured and spent a year in hospitals, he withdrew. He stayed away from public places. He avoided being at the front of anything.

"I was a hermit," he said. "We did a lot of things ourselves. We didn't like crowds. I didn't like the grocery store."

It took several years, but Baker came to terms with his injuries and the post-traumatic stress disorder, building relationships with fellow Vietnam veterans, which eventually led them to the formation of the Vietnam Veterans of Brevard in 1985.

Baker once again became a point man of sorts.

Over the years, he has served in every role for the 300-member organization that in 2005 became the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard. This week, the group hosts its 23th annual reunion at Wickham Park in Melbourne, billed as the largest veterans' gathering in the nation.

Organizers say it attracts tens of thousands of veterans, their families and other visitors.

Baker, 61, of Cocoa said the idea for a reunion grew from those early days, when members of the group went to see the 1986 movie "Platoon." The reunion marked a turning point for Baker and others suffering from the emotional effects of war.

The group is working to get judges to understand and take defendants' PTSD into consideration and helping to establish an Honor Flight chapter in Brevard County, a group that takes World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. It also runs a yearly Stand Down, a one-day event to help homeless veterans with personal needs.

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Veterans reunion celebrates 23 years of helping soldiers