‘Hearts need healing’: Northern Agency Veterans host 7th Annual National Vietnam War Veterans Day

By Jan-Mikael Patterson
Navajo Times

SHIPROCK – It was windy and dusty, but the elements were welcome as a tent was erected on the Northern Navajo Fairgrounds for the 7th Annual National Vietnam War Veterans Day, celebrated last Friday.

The celebration included an Honor Bike ride that began in Kirtland, New Mexico; a trail ride from Table Mesa, New Mexico; and a parade from the Shiprock Chapter House to the fairgrounds.

After greeting his comrades and sharing some laughs, Clyde Benally, 79, handed off his digital camera to another and asked for a group photo. The smiles, humor, and laughter were all the medicine he needed.

“I was saying about a week ago that it is good we are able to do this because when we first came home, we didn’t get the cheers and the accolades,” said Benally, a draftee who served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. “We were yelled at, called ‘Baby Killers.’ We had things thrown at us, like bottles.”

The animosity toward returning soldiers was horrible. It has been 58 years since soldiers came back from Vietnam to a hostile reception. Benally’s memories are from the past, and his smile showed no hint of his previous anguish.

As the event proceeded, a local presented an invocation, encouraging all to reach out and touch where it hurt on their bodies, whether it be their legs, arms, or even their hearts.

“We need healing of our minds,” said Pastor Robert Tso, 73, who served with the 101st Airborne. “Our hearts need healing. Our knees and our legs need healing. Some of us with wounds, who are Purple Heart recipients who need healing. Some of us who are battling Agent Orange need healing. Some of us who are in areas of battling PTSD, nightmares, substance abuse, need healing today.”

Tso battled with substance abuse himself, and it was not until he gave his life to God that he started healing mentally and spiritually.

“I would consider myself a miracle,” Tso said. “For those of us that are fortunate to come home, they are miracles. Before I gave my life to the Lord, I was battling with substance abuse, alcohol, drugs. It seemed like there was no purpose in life. No direction.”

Tso remembers coming home to a rebellious society and described the hostility as “almost a spiritual thing” but to thwart negativity to returning soldiers at the time.

“(Vietnam veterans) got the blunt force of that rebellion,” he said. “It made us bitter towards the government, to the military, to the people.

“It was not until I went to Bible school that (my faith) set me free,” he said. “No more nightmares. No more craving for the addictions.”

Getting married also helped, as Rosemarie Tso, 75, accompanied him.

Keynote speaker Kenneth Joe, 77, of Montezuma Creek, Utah, also served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Joe delivered his speech in a third-person narrative, a tale about a young boy who overcame obstacles throughout his life. He began one part of the speech with his enlistment.

“In 1967, he signed up,” Joe said. “He enlisted, signing up for four years. Before you know it, he was in El Paso, Texas…Fort Gordon, Georgia. He was being trained as an infantryman on the frontlines. For $50 extra, he joined the Airborne jump school out of Fort Benning, Georgia.”

From there, Joe deployed to Vietnam. Six months later, he was wounded.

“He almost passed on, but he survived,” he said. “Whether that was a miracle—the gentleman who offered the invocation talked about miracles—maybe that’s what it was. (Something) told him, ‘You got to stay and help your company, your platoon.’

“When he arrived in Vietnam, he reported to his company, and the first thing the (commanding officer) said was, ‘Is that a Native American?’”

His response was, “Yes.”

“Son, what tribe are you?” mimicking the officer.

“Navajo,” Joe responded.

“Good, we have a point man,” the officer said. “He knows how to track anything. He can see through the forest. He can hear everything, right? That’s right. That’s how you should be as a Native American.”

Joe looked out to the audience with a slight smirk.

“But…you have to be a sheep herder first,” Joe said as the audience applauded. “And you (had to have gone) to (Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding) school to learn to fix your bed (and) eat bad food. With all that, you know you’re prepared.”
Prepared for anything because teachings began on the reservation and in schools.

Despite the hardship many veterans endured, you couldn’t take away from the days’ worth of camaraderie, humor, and storytelling from the finest warriors of the First Nations.

Master of ceremonies and organizer Vern Lee told the audience why he always wears the prisoner of war/MIA hat.

“I wear this for those who never made it home,” he said. “I pray that one day, those that are not accounted for return.”

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