Dear Vietnam Veteran,

Going to Vietnam and serving his tour was hard for my Great Uncle Fred. He was a Wild Weasel. In case you don’t know, Wild Weasels were pilots used specifically for exposing SAM (surface-to-air missile) turrets by flying low and fast over the trees. By flying low to the trees, the SAM turret would expose itself and the bombers could come in and destroy it. He never came back from Vietnam. His plane had a malfunction during a take off and caught fire. It soon blew up and he was rushed to the ICU. He died a few days later. He never got the thank you or the welcome home he deserved. At the same time, I don’t know if you did either. So on behalf of the United States, thank you and welcome home.

I am thankful veterans, like yourself, fought overseas so I may have the opportunity to go to college and live a safe, healthy life. If you never risked your life for all of ours (everyone in the United States) we would not have the opportunities we have and we owe it to you and your comrades.

I am proud to say people like you are my heros. When you were about the same age as me (18 years old), you were training and then deployed to Vietnam. That is the most brave and courageous thing a 18 year old kid can do, and I don’t know if I could have done it; hats off to you, sir.

I have had the opportunity to see a few of the memorials in Washington D.C. and the traveling Wall of Names. Both were such a solemn, hard thing for me to see and think about. Finding my Great Uncle’s name was a really important thing for my Dad, so we scoured over the names until we found Fred Shattuck and imprinted his name on a piece of paper. It was hard to recognize one name on there. I couldn’t even begin to imagine being in your shoes.

I appreciate your service to our country for providing me with a safer future. A future where I may have a wife, kids, dog, and the white picket fence around my house. You are the reason my American Dream can come true. So on behalf of the United States, thank you and welcome home.

Sincerely,
Robby