THOMASTON — On May 28, Vietnam veterans joined the Midcoast community at Thomaston’s Gen. Henry Knox Museum for the fifth annual Boots on the Ground ceremony, dedicated this year to the Vietnam war era.

Boy scouts and sea cadets distributed water bottles throughout the event, which took place under direct sunlight on a rather warm afternoon.

Several guest speakers spoke of their personal experiences and their continued gratitude toward those who served. 

Live instrumentals by the 21-piece Maine Pro Musica Orchestra, and singing from Vietnam veteran Blind Albert, divided the speeches.

“We remember that 50 years ago, our veterans answered the nation’s call to defend a country they didn’t know and a people they’d never met,” said retired Col. Mark Franklin from the Department of Defense.

Franklin added that the U.S. military never lost a battle in Vietnam. Yet the soldiers came home, he said, wearing the scars of battle, many of them invisible, yet just as painful.

Retired Lt. Gen Dennis L. Benchoff said, “Most, including me, just wanted to put it in our past and get on with our lives. We did what was expected of us — serve our country and do it as best we could. For some it was the ultimate sacrifice. For more there were wounds that needed healing. And for many, it was the experience of a different kind of nasty combat that needed a long time to overcome.”

Benchoff, former commander of the 101st Ariborne Division’s 20th Chemical Detachment in Vietnam, said that eventually the nation’s antagonism for the soldiers’ role in the war changed, though some soldiers were never able to get over that initial reception, and some are still suffering those effects today.

“Over time, the nation came to understand that this unpopular war was not the fault of its soldiers, but of the political leaders who never thought through the consequences of ordering our young men and women to fight on that foreign battle field half a world away,” Benchoff said.

U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) presented a story from a different era.

The army of the Potomac was situated in and around the village of Gettysburg as Lee’s Confederate Army poured in. The 375 soldiers of the 16th Maine Regiment received the directive to hold back the enemy’s advance at all costs — a suicide mission. They fought for three hours, until all but 38 remained alive or free from capture.

“Our faces burned at the prospect of losing our colors,” King quoted soldier Abner Small of Waterville. Those colors, for the 16th regiment, were their flag. So they tore the flag into little pieces of red, white, blue, stars and stripes. They carried those pieces hidden in their uniform as they were shuttled through Southern prison camps. Eventually, many of the men returned to Maine, along with their colors.

At the Maine State Museum in Augusta, those shreds are on display.

“That’s courage, that’s commitment. And that is what today is about remembering,” King said.

Sarah Thompson can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.