Welcome them home

Several people have asked for details about the veterans coming home. Here's the scoop from the Beacon Journal story :)
Blessings,
Kim

The five area Vietnam veterans never received a hero's welcome when they returned home from war. Instead, they were often ridiculed and called names. One was teased for having his legs nearly blown off by a land mine.

A Tallmadge congregation and community members want to help those men with their healing as they again return home from Vietnam, where they spent the last few weeks trying to find peace.

On Tuesday, when they arrive at Akron-Canton Airport, the ministry hopes to encourage the men with a welcome they never had.

During the Vietnam War, the country was angry. Four students who were protesting the war were killed at Kent State University. And when the warriors returned to the States, there was no fanfare.

North Olmsted's Charles Forsyth stepped on U.S. soil in San Diego with a few hundred fellow Marines. Because it was such a large group, the arrival was portrayed as a kind of troop withdrawal, so Forsyth was expecting a Marine Corps band or some type of celebration.

Instead, the soldiers were loaded on buses with military police who were bearing batons.

''We were all told there were protesters outside the gates and . . . not to react in any way. And to keep our heads down,'' Forsyth said.

The batons, he recalled, were to be used on Marines who disobeyed.

That was 40 years ago.

The men, members of Warriors Journey Home, a ministry that meets biweekly at First Congregational Church in Tallmadge, left more than two weeks ago on a reconciliation visit to Vietnam.

Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, some said they were returning to retrieve the souls they lost during battle. Others went in search of healing.

The Akron Beacon Journal wrote of their life journey Oct. 3 and has provided a place on Ohio.com for photos and narrative from the trip, provided by Laura Torchia, a senior visual journalism major at Kent State University.

In addition to Forsyth, the Vietnam veterans returning home are Tallmadge's Joe Caley, Akron's Tom Saal, Springfield Township's Ron Oskar and Streetsboro's Ralph Knerem.

AirTran Flight 203 from Atlanta to Akron-Canton Airport is due at 7:13 p.m., provided there are no delays.

Those who want to join the caravan, rather than meet at the airport, should be at the church at 5:45 p.m. A bus provided by the Tallmadge Recreation Center will transport those who need assistance to the airport.

The Tallmadge Police Department is providing an escort to the church for the men, who will be riding in a limousine.

''I think just having our presence at the airport giving warmth and love will mean more to them than words can say,'' said Ann Carter, a Warriors Journey Home member who is honored to be helping coordinate the welcome-home celebration.

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THE ROUTE HOME

The men, who will be riding inside a limousine, will receive a police escort back to Tallmadge. They will take I-77 north to I-76 east and exit state Route 532. The caravan will go into Tallmadge, around the circle and back to the church.