Dear Vietnam Veteran,

I hope that your day on this Honor Flight has been an experience of a lifetime. I hope that seeing memorials in your honor and talking with others who have the same experiences as you helps you feel a sense of gratitude and appreciation from our community in what you have done for our country.

My name is Isabelle “Izzy” K. and I am a senior in high school. Learning about these wars and events makes me beyond appreciative of everything our American men and women did for our country. I cannot begin to imagine the courage it must have taken to leave your home and go overseas to a completely different land and fight for America.

I am leaving my home state of Wisconsin soon for college in Minnesota, and the thought of leaving my home scares me a bit. Eighteen years is a long time to live somewhere and then to leave. However, I am reminded of the sacrifice you made at my age. Leaving your home country for a foreign land could not have been easy and I commend you for that. I find inspiration in your bravery and sacrifice and I want to thank you for giving that and more to me, our communities, and our country.

I understand after you came back from Vietnam, there was not gratitude for what you did for our country. I know listening to stories of family members of mine who had been in Vietnam that coming home to meet the shame of the people you had been fighting for was strenuous and mentally-draining. They pushed through unimaginably difficult situations that I couldn’t have handled as bravely as you and other Vietnam Veterans did. Closure is needed in our lives, especially after trying experiences and it saddens me to know that you had to go so long without that closure.

I hope that your travels to Washington D.C. help you get that closure you need and that this experience has been an outlet for you. I hope that through the Honor Flight you were shown the appreciation and gratitude you deserve; that in some ways it may make up for the many years you were not shown it.

I understand that you are on your way back from our nation’s capitol and I want to thank you for your service to our country. Welcome home!

Sincerely,
Isabelle “Izzy” K.