New Year, Old History

🎉Happy New Year, Combatants! 🪩Welcome to 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣🪩

I am starting off the new year with military history from the Geriatric Pilots Association (GPA). Now, the name sounds specific to Airmen and the alike. However, it is a group of veterans from all branches that meet once a month to share military history and a piece of their legacy.

GPA Leader, Jim Wideman (left) and VA Veterans Outreach Program Coordinator (right)

To start us off, U.S. Army veteran, Jason Richards shared incredible remarks from a speech he presented honoring Vietnam veterans at a Vietnam memorial ceremony during the summer of 2024 in Penn Yan, NY.

Following Jason, U.S. Army veteran and GPA leader, Jim Wideman shared an incredible history lesson on the “Truths & Myths About the Vietnam War.” We watched a mini documentary by the Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association (AVVBA) and had a brief discussion afterwards. It was very enlightening to hear about the struggles service members faced when returning home and the decisions made during the war that could’ve resolved the conflict much sooner than it lasted. What resonated with me the most from this documentary was that military members did a lot of humanitarian work in Vietnam. They built schools and other structures and provided aid in several communities to rebuild it back up. This was what I experienced myself in the Middle East during my time in OIF/OEF. But of course, the media never shared that side of either war. If you are interested in this documentary, it is available for viewing on YouTube.

Geriatric Pilots Association meeting at Golden Corral in Henrietta, NY - Every 2nd Thursday each month at 11:45am