Wife of Vietnam veteran questions Park Committee's reason for treatment
Letter to the Editor,
I am appalled at the Libby City Council and the Parks Committee treatment of the veterans of our area.
By questioning them wanting to put a memorial in the park on the river is beyond my comprehension. I know how hard it has been for the Vietnam veterans to even come to grips with their service to America during one of the times when our veterans were treated like subhuman beings. They came home to an America condeming them for fighting in a war they were drafted to fight in. Most did not even want anyone to know they had fought in the war and buried it deep in the recesses of their mind and have fought those demons and (Viet Cong) their whole life. To treat them in this way is once again saying they don’t matter.
Most communities would accept their request with great enthusiasm and honor them with the gratitude of a grateful people. I am wondering whether the City Council or Park Committee have loved ones who are veterans.
What do you say to them? Do you tell them that the “look” of the park is more important than what they did for our country? I don’t think they realize that a lot of people will be upset that they have once again put the veterans in a place where they don’t matter. That is a very sad circumstance. I think if you poll the people of Libby, you would find that most, if not all, would want the veteran’s memorial in the greatest place of honor that a city could provide. But maybe, I am wrong.
I moved from Libby to Troy seven years ago. Their veterans memorial is in a place of honor on the river’s edge in the middle of their park. It is very beautiful and very meaningful. I went to the dedication on Memorial Day to honor my husband and his comrades in war. We can never ever take back the shameful treatment of our Vietnam veterans.
We can only move forward and honor them in any way possible. To question them wanting to honor America’s Finest in the park on the river is almost unbelievable. I am sorry, Terry Andreessen, that you and the other veterans have been treated this way. I hope that others will speak up and stand up to the City Council and the Park Committee and not accept the treatment you have been given. What more can I say? Maybe that I am glad I am not a resident of Libby anymore?
— Patty Sargent,
Wife of George B. Sargent, U.S. Marine Corps, veteran of
Battle for Khe San