What is the perfect way to remind a Vietnam Veteran about what he accomplished, while his memory is starting to fail?

2017-02-24T08:55:53-05:00

My grandfather is a retired Army Master Sergeant. The thing he only talks about is the Vietnam war. He was an Army medic for a total of twenty two years and I want to find a good way to honor him. Some background details is that his too highest awards were the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit. If anyone could help my figure this out that would be great. Thank you!

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Feb 24 at 2017 9:16 AM

2017-02-24T09:16:58-05:00

Nicholas Mcclurken - Do you have copies of all his paperwork for starters? If not, go to National Achieve (link below) and get request a copy. From there you can look at doing things like buildng a shadow box or something like that to honor him.

https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

Request Your Military Service Records Online, by Mail, or by Fax

function Launch_RecServ() { var the_url = "https://vetrecs.archives.gov/VeteranRequest/home.html"; Onlink_App=window.open(the_url,"Onlink","width=800,height=600,left=0,top=0,scrollbars=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,resizable=no,status=no,toolbar=no,source=no"); } (Includes DD 214/Separation Documents, Personnel Records, Replacement Medals, and/or Medical Records) Review the Instructions Before you Begin! Looking for Pre-WWI Service...

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2017 9:18 AM

2017-02-24T09:18:00-05:00

I'd suggest a memoir, video, and/or interview with Veterans History Project - http://www.loc.gov/vets/

Veterans History Project (Library of Congress)

Home Page for the Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Motivated by the urgent need to collect the stories and experiences of war veterans while they are still among us, the U.S. Congress created the Veterans History Project in October 2000. The legislation calls upon the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to collect and preserve audio- and video-taped oral histories, along with documents...

Response by MSG Mark Million made Feb 24 at 2017 9:43 AM

2017-02-24T09:43:36-05:00

I've always been a fan of a good Salute, a firm handshake and a heartfelt "Thank You for your service".

Response by SPC Sheila Lewis made Feb 24 at 2017 9:52 AM

2017-02-24T09:52:25-05:00

Buy a tape recorder or something like that and whenever he reminisces he can be recorded.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2017 10:08 AM

2017-02-24T10:08:12-05:00

Hi, Nicholas.

If he likes to discuss it, have him get into writing it down or otherwise recording it. You said his memory is failing, so getting started now would be ideal.

And, from me, thank him for his service. Vietnam vets never got the honor they deserved. That will never happen on our watch again.

Response by CPT Gary Jugenheimer made Feb 24 at 2017 11:56 AM

2017-02-24T11:56:58-05:00

Nicholas.....there exists another site that is popular with former members of the military....it is called Together We Served https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=338495....this is my Shadow Box that you can develop on this site for your grandfather....this would be a nice tribute and once you have developed it, it can be printed and made into a poster that I am sure he would like....let me know how this progressed and thank you for caring so much about your grandfather ( [login to see] ).....Gary

TogetherWeServed - Connecting US Army Soldiers

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 25 at 2017 1:35 AM

2017-02-25T01:35:40-05:00

I like the idea of creating a shadow box and contacting the National Archives. Something you might be able to do is get with a local Veterans Organization. I know sometimes they do commemorative award ceremonies, especially for the Vietnam/Cold War Vets.

I also like the idea of him writing, a lot of our military history is lost every year. Perhaps he can preserve some of it for future generations.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Feb 25 at 2017 12:16 PM

2017-02-25T12:16:31-05:00

Nicholas Mcclurken If you have his DD214 then I would recommend you create him a shadow box of his medals, awards, patches and rank. If you do not, you can request his records via the national records center. I needed to get my dad's when he needed to moved to veterans home several years back. It was actually very fast. I got his DD214, and his VA Disability Rating records from the 50s.
http://nvf.org/how-to-get-a-copy-of-dd214/

How to Get a Copy of DD214 - Instructions to Receive

NVF shows veterans how to get a copy of DD214 form and what information is needed. Instructions to receive your separation papers from the National Archives

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2017 3:49 AM

2017-03-05T03:49:07-05:00

Nicholas Mcclurken,

You mentioned his memory was beginning to fail. My father-in-law was a WWII vet who suffered from dementia in his waning years. The only thing he would talk about was service related in the Pacific. If you plan on any type of assisted living (dementia can be hard for a family to deal with), you'll need important paperwork such as the DD214, VA disability etc. There are veterans homes (depending where you live) and the VA provides financial assistance towards long term care (depending on disability and service).

Scrapbooks, photo albums and shadowboxes as mentioned are a good start. You can get an idea by just Googling 'military shadowbox'; however the online businesses can be quite expensive. Most bases have businesses nearby that specialize in shadowboxes and are professionally done.

Response by SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D made Oct 3 at 2020 7:37 PM

2020-10-03T19:37:01-04:00

I would contact your local DAV, VFW and American Legion and explain your situation to them and ask for their help. They have contacts, ideas and ways to accomplish the recognition your Grandfather deserves. As a Medic, I may have flown him to battles sites whenever we flew medi-vacs so from this Vietnam Nam vet to him I salute him as a true combat hero who may have been by my side and I never knew a reunion, so to speak, would happen in this manner. Also, and I am certain this would be totally acceptable to the President, please tell him all of us combat vets know that the President would salute him as well. God bless him and we will all keep him in our prayers.