Veterans to honor comrades in Glendale Heights ceremony

Thirty-three years after he left the Mekong Delta in the southern part of Vietnam, Bob Vargas went back.

"I wanted to see the people," he said.

When he was there as a member of a U.S. Army infantry division in 1968, he and his fellow soldiers viewed everyone they met with suspicion because it was difficult to discern allies from enemies.

But when he returned in 2001 with a friend who is also a veteran, he could see the people in a different light. With the help of a driver and an interpreter, the two men toured Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, and saw war memorials and memorial cemeteries.

They also saw the rice paddies they remembered from their youth, seemingly unchanged.

But there were some changes, too.

"The base camps are all gone," he said. "Where we served, there's now electricity."

The people he met were gracious and welcoming, he said.

"They're all smiles," he said.

The experience helped him put the war experience in perspective, taking care of what he calls "unfinished business." He said many other veterans have made similar trips back to Vietnam.

"The doors opened late in the '90s," he said.

Vargas is the chaplain at Glendale Heights VFW Post 2377. Post members will be in attendance when the village presents its Veterans Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, at Veterans Memorial Park.

Vargas said city officials, including Village President Linda Jackson, police and fire department personnel and members of the Knights of Columbus will join with VFW members to honor military veterans. A crowd of about 150 is expected to gather, he said.

"It's very important for the post to have that ceremony and remembrance," he said.

The ceremony will begin with a flag and color guard presentation and a rifle salute. After a prayer, several speakers will address those assembled, Vargas said.

Ron Metty, a U.S. Air Force veteran, serves as the financial secretary for the Glendale Heights Knights of Columbus Council 9893.

Several council members, all fourth-degree members of the order, will be at the ceremony with Metty, in full Knights of Columbus regalia, he said.

"It really is important we support our troops," Metty said.

Metty, who currently works as the property manager at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Glendale Heights, said he enlisted in 1965.

"I was prime draft age when I graduated high school," he said.

He recalls signing up for the armed forces on a Friday.

"I was on a bus to the airport Monday," he said.

After an initial stay in Detroit, he was sent to San Antonio, Texas, for boot camp. Then it was on to Montgomery, Alabama, where he trained as a medic before being stationed in Oscoda, Michigan. At the Air Force base there, wounded soldiers received long-term care, he said.

"People had been stabilized and were in recovery mode," he said.

Metty's duties included suturing wounds and providing sterile dressing changes.

Strong bonds between patient and caregiver often were formed, he said.

"I really got a lot of soldiers from out in the field," Metty said. "Some of them I met in the late '60s, I'm still in contact with. We had a tight bond. You (as medic) are an important part of their recovery process."

One of his former patients, a pilot who was paralyzed after his helicopter was shot down, now lives in Dallas, Texas.

"He's doing quite well. He ended up with five kids and a beautiful family," Metty said. "He's one of the good stories. You learn to be pretty resourceful after you go through boot camp. It changes you forever."

If you go

What: Glendale Heights Veterans Day Ceremony

When: 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11

Where: Veterans Memorial Park, 220 Civic Center Plaza, Glendale Heights

Info: (630) 909-5303 or vfwil.org