A Veteran’s Thoughts on Memorial Day
By Greta Burroughs
Dale Dillow is a retired Army aviation maintenance chief. He served three tours in Vietnam and is very proud to be an American veteran. His memories of his military experience are still very vivid, and his patriotism very strong.
He is distraught at the decline of patriotism in our country and wonders why that is. “During the NASCAR pre-race show, when the colors were presented and the National Anthem played, less than 50 percent of the people were saluting. Are they making a negative statement? Don’t they care, or do they just not know to do so?”
Dillow went on to say, “I think years ago, people showed their patriotism better than we do today. Right after 9/11, the flag was flying and everybody suddenly got patriotic, which was good to see, but it didn’t last.”
He continued, “Do we take it for granted? We’ve always been free to come and go, buy, and worship as we please. Everything is our choice. That’s our freedom, some countries don’t have that.”
Dillow began his military career in 1956. He went to Vietnam on three separate occasions and witnessed the American withdrawal from the war torn country during his third tour of duty. He was at one of the prisons where the Viet Cong were being released that day.
“They had a path where they were going out single file. While I was watching, I made eye contact with one guy. He gave me a plastic bag with a game piece, like a big checker in it. I still have it.”
He said the experiences were ingrained in his memory. “I can still feel, hear, and taste it, but I didn’t like to talk about it with my family. I’ll talk about it now with others who shared the experiences.”
When asked about his thoughts on Memorial Day, Dillow replied, “The spirit of Memorial Day is remembering the people who have served. Some of them came home and some did not. It is up to us to keep the memory alive. The impact of the happening will be lost if history books do not give it justice. Vietnam is a prime example. My grandkids just have a couple of pages about it in their history books. They don’t need to get into the gory details, but the children need to know the sacrifices and hardships.”
He added, “War is war, and people die or get hurt for a cause. Everybody may not agree with the cause, like with the war in Vietnam, but we were there and had a job to do. I didn’t kill anybody or get shot at, but I had a job managing the maintenance hanger, ramp, and aircraft. My purpose was to keep them flying.
“When I returned from Vietnam, no one said thank you or sorry for what you had to go through, but today it is different. I marvel at the change in attitude today. The difference is 9/11. Just like Pearl Harbor, it drew everybody together for the cause. There was nothing like that for Korea or Vietnam.”
Dillow said that supporting his fellow Americans is important to him. “I have an obligation because I was born here, live here, and have family here. If I’m capable and able to stand up for our rights and freedoms that we enjoy, I’m supposed to do it. Not because I have to, but because I want to.”
Dillow closed with, “Deep down everybody feels a degree of patriotism. If they don’t know what it is, it should be a nagging feeling to do something nice for our country.”
By Greta Burroughs
Dale Dillow is a retired Army aviation maintenance chief. He served three tours in Vietnam and is very proud to be an American veteran. His memories of his military experience are still very vivid, and his patriotism very strong.
He is distraught at the decline of patriotism in our country and wonders why that is. “During the NASCAR pre-race show, when the colors were presented and the National Anthem played, less than 50 percent of the people were saluting. Are they making a negative statement? Don’t they care, or do they just not know to do so?”
Dillow went on to say, “I think years ago, people showed their patriotism better than we do today. Right after 9/11, the flag was flying and everybody suddenly got patriotic, which was good to see, but it didn’t last.”
He continued, “Do we take it for granted? We’ve always been free to come and go, buy, and worship as we please. Everything is our choice. That’s our freedom, some countries don’t have that.”
Dillow began his military career in 1956. He went to Vietnam on three separate occasions and witnessed the American withdrawal from the war torn country during his third tour of duty. He was at one of the prisons where the Viet Cong were being released that day.
“They had a path where they were going out single file. While I was watching, I made eye contact with one guy. He gave me a plastic bag with a game piece, like a big checker in it. I still have it.”
He said the experiences were ingrained in his memory. “I can still feel, hear, and taste it, but I didn’t like to talk about it with my family. I’ll talk about it now with others who shared the experiences.”
When asked about his thoughts on Memorial Day, Dillow replied, “The spirit of Memorial Day is remembering the people who have served. Some of them came home and some did not. It is up to us to keep the memory alive. The impact of the happening will be lost if history books do not give it justice. Vietnam is a prime example. My grandkids just have a couple of pages about it in their history books. They don’t need to get into the gory details, but the children need to know the sacrifices and hardships.”
He added, “War is war, and people die or get hurt for a cause. Everybody may not agree with the cause, like with the war in Vietnam, but we were there and had a job to do. I didn’t kill anybody or get shot at, but I had a job managing the maintenance hanger, ramp, and aircraft. My purpose was to keep them flying.
“When I returned from Vietnam, no one said thank you or sorry for what you had to go through, but today it is different. I marvel at the change in attitude today. The difference is 9/11. Just like Pearl Harbor, it drew everybody together for the cause. There was nothing like that for Korea or Vietnam.”
Dillow said that supporting his fellow Americans is important to him. “I have an obligation because I was born here, live here, and have family here. If I’m capable and able to stand up for our rights and freedoms that we enjoy, I’m supposed to do it. Not because I have to, but because I want to.”
Dillow closed with, “Deep down everybody feels a degree of patriotism. If they don’t know what it is, it should be a nagging feeling to do something nice for our country.”