Locals Lend a Hand for Vietnam Parade Anniversary

Veterans from recent and past conflicts, as well as their family members and supporters, will come together this weekend in downtown Chicago for the three-day Vietnam Veterans Parade Welcome Home 2011.

Local community members have helped city and state officials organize parts of this weekend’s event, designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original June 13, 1986 historic Chicago parade, which took place about 11 years after U.S. forces in Vietnam actually returned home.

“You can’t underestimate the effect [the parade] had on Chicago veterans and veterans across the county,” said Jean Douglas, with the , an agency which provides counseling for combat veterans. “In my work as a therapist, 1986 was the first time some people though it was OK to say they were vets."

Douglas said the charged political atmosphere during the war prevented veterans from receving typical welcome home ceremonies like parades, parties, and greetings at the airport. 

“They didn’t feel they could say they were in Vietnam” to anyone, Douglas said, and it took more than a decade before those veterans were “welcomed home.”

Included in this weekend's events will be a Moving Wall exhibit at Navy Pier on Friday, a program with author, veteran and graduate Earl Gorman on Saturday and a concert at Millennium Park on Sunday, organizers said.

Karla Olson, digital communications specialist at , said the veterans who organized the event wanted to show that they “have the back” of more recent vets.

Olson, who's father is a Vietnam veteran, said Gorman will be particularly interesting to hear speak. He'll share his experiences in Vietnam, challenges of being a veteran and how the original parade affected him.

Gorman, a Clarendon Hills resident, wrote the award-winning memoir Fire Mission: The World of Nam – A Marine’s Story, detailing his time as an artillery officer and his return to the country in 2007 with a medical mission team.

Also on Saturday, two photography exhibits — one featuring photographs from the original parade from Chicago Tribune archives, and “Conflict Zone,” which will showcase work from current conflicts by international photojournalists — will be opened.

A banquet at the Palmer House Hilton will honor Medal of Honor recipients later that evening.

“I think that you never have too many opportunities to say thank you,” Olson said. “This is a great opportunity for people of all ages to say, ‘Thank you,’ to our veterans, for their service and what they are doing."

IF YOU GO

Friday, June 17
Noon – Opening ceremony and Moving Wall display, Navy Pier 
Noon-2 p.m. – Vietnam Author Fair at Expo 72, 72 E. Randolph
5-7 p.m. – Veteran’s art and photo exhibit, 72 E. Randolph
7-10 p.m. – Reception at the Palmer house with music by Kelly Trudell, Joe Cantafio, Britt Small and the Rev. John Steer

Saturday, June 18
9 a.m. Kickoff rally with music by Britt Small, Kelly Trudell and the Rev. John Steer, Navy Pier
2 p.m. – Earl Gorman program at Expo 72, 72. E. Randolph
6 p.m. – Heroes banquet dinner reception, Grand Ballroom, Palmer House
7 p.m. – Heroes banquet with MC Bill Kurtis and keynote speakers Mick Yauger, Colonel David W. Sutherland and Bob Wieland, Grand Ballroom, Palmer House. Medal of Honor recipients will attend as honored guests.

Sunday, June 19
9-10 a.m. – Interfaith service by the Rev. John Steer, Vietnam Veteran Memorial Plaza, 2 East Wacker Dr.
Noon: Millennium Park concert at Pritzker Pavilion with Dennis DeYoung, ARRA and USO’s Joe Cantafio and the 101st Rock Division.

In addition, iPods will be collected at Millennium Park concert and the Palmer House Starbucks as part of “iPods for Wounded Veterans.”