Dear Vietnam Veteran,

We sing the National Anthem with hands over our hearts, we recite the Pledge every morning before the school bell rings, and we watch parades filled with floats of red, white, and blue march down the street. We do all of these things to honor and remember those who fought for our country in the past, present, and future. I would like to personally thank you for your service and sacrifice by writing this letter to you—my hero. While I would have loved to thank you in person, this letter will take my physical place while still carrying the message of my profound gratitude and appreciation for the battles you fought at times of war and on the homefront. Welcome home.   

My name is Emma, and I am a high school senior anxiously awaiting the fate of my future in college admission letters. However, while I look towards college, you were living in a time period filled with turmoil and controversy that left your future in the hands of someone else. To me, it’s unfathomable to have to decide whether or not to give up the hopes and dreams of your future in order to answer a call to arms and defend the homeland. The respect I have for you is too abundant to put into words because I don’t think I would have been mature enough to make such a life-altering decision. I’m told by my teachers and parents that many veterans returning from Vietnam didn’t receive a warm welcome due to the political turmoil, so it is my honor to say the words that so many yearned to hear upon their return to American soil—Welcome home and thank you for all that you sacrificed for our country.

People often take for granted the freedoms we obtain as American citizens, but ultimately, we wouldn’t have any of them without the sacrifices you made for our country. I owe the house I live in, the school I attend, and the future I have to you because without your service and sacrifice, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to fulfill my American dream and build the future I dream about. Thank you so much and God Bless America.

Welcome home!

Emma