12:00 AM - 12:00 AM
The event was successful. There was a post-screening discussion panel with moderator Dr. Benjamin-Alvarado, a veteran and professor of political science at UNO, Ken Stinson chairman emeritus of Kiewit Construction, a Vietnam veteran, and Dr David Booker, dean of the college of arts and sciences at UNO. They discussed their reaction to the film and took questions from the audience. The audience was comprised of veterans, protestors and the general public and the discussion was well-thought out, civil and insightful.
The goal of our chapter at this event was to thank and honor Vietnam veterans - it was achieved.
The chapter set up a table in the foyer both during the pre-screening reception as well as afterward. We presented certificates of appreciation and lapel pins to ten Vietnam Veterans including a US Army nurse. One gentleman stood out: dressed in a suit with a small round pin on his lapel, yellow with 3 red vertical stripes in the center; he quietly perused the table. When I spied the pin I asked if we could present him with a certificate, & tears sprung to his eyes. He approached the table after the presentation and expressed his gratitude again; he appreciated the warm welcome the DAR had given him when he arrived. Other Vietnam veterans, wearing Honor Flight shirts, talked with us at the table, expressing their gratitude as they received certificates before the flight, and pins at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC. The younger sister of one of those veterans talked about how she’d convinced her brother – who struggled upon returning from Vietnam but had turned his life around – she encouraged him to go on the flight & said the change, for the positive, that has come over him since that trip is remarkable. Most members of the audience checked out our table, and the majority picked up items – pins, stickers and bumper stickers, either for themselves or because they knew someone who would appreciate them. NO items requested; used stock on hand