Vietnam Veterans Day Thoughts
I came across this email recently from a military veteran on LinkeIn and was touched by the sender’s message. I’ve included his original message and his Vietnam Veterans Day tribute. Read this, I’m sure you’ll feel the same:
John,
Just wanted to reach out and thank you—not only for your service in Vietnam, but for the way you’ve kept that legacy alive through your writing and shared stories here on LinkedIn. I recently shared a post for Vietnam Veterans Day, and you came to mind.
A lot of us who fought decades later were shaped by what your generation endured and passed down. I also appreciate you following my newsletter, The Harbor Site Report. I feel the weight when speaking on anything related to our prior conflicts, and I aim to treat it with the respect it deserves.
I wanted to share my post to thank you personally.
Respectfully,
Sean Todd
A Message to Vietnam Veterans
You tested new battlefield tactics in the heat of Ia Drang—outnumbered, surrounded, but still standing.
You endured over 100 simultaneous attacks during the Tet Offensive, when the American public was told the enemy was defeated.
You held your ground at Khe Sanh, three-to-one odds, 77 days under fire.
You fought house to house in Hue, in urban combat so brutal it changed our military doctrine.
You fought for Hamburger Hill in the rain and through mud, advancing uphill into machine gun fire—
only for command to abandon the terrain a week later, a common trend.
And while you were bleeding in the jungle—
Jane Fonda posed for photos with the same guns used to shoot down American pilots, and the country let her.
You were called baby killers.
You were spit on in airports.
You were blamed for a war you didn’t start.
But you endured.
You trained and inspired the next generation.
You passed down hard lessons written in blood.
You shaped the tactics and mindset that defined the GWOT warfighters, and those lessons carried into the ranks today.
Your legacy lives on in those who picked up a rifle after you—
because you taught us how to patrol in uncertainty, endure overwhelming odds, and fight for each other when the nation stopped fighting for you.
I’ve included the direct link to Sean’s personal LinkedIn page in case readers want to learn more about him: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-todd-67858121b/
*****
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