Vietnam War Remembered

The Sanford Lions Club received a personal account of the events and emotions relating to the Vietnam War and the impact they had on thousands of veterans like Ron Miriello who spoke to the club at two successive meetings July 9 and 16. His presentations covered a wide range of topics from training to seeing action in the Mekong Delta region to the experiences of service men and women after returning home.

The Navy veteran served on a patrol boat on the Mekong River and its many tributaries in southern South Vietnam. Miriello said their primary mission was to seek out and destroy North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces supplying weapons and occupying river communities. His yearlong tour of duty in the war zone straddled parts of 1968-69, a tumultuous period not only in the war, but also at home.

Miriello paid tribute to veterans of all wars and asked all “warriors” in the club to stand for recognition. He emphasized that the war in Vietnam was not lost by those wearing American uniforms. It was the actions of politicians in Washington that resulted in U.S. forces having to leave Vietnam. He concluded his program with a slide presentation of outstanding photos he had taken during his deployment depicting life aboard the riverboats and the dense jungle and dangers that faced them around every turn.

But, there were also photos of lovely children from villages along the river who would joyfully greet them, knowing the Americans would share their candy and rations. Miriello said if the children were not present upon their approach, it very likely meant that Vietcong were lying in wait. He said there are a number of parallels between the Vietnam War and our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, one being the growing efforts to limit troops’ authority to return fire and protect themselves unless foes are positively identified.

Another special guest was Lions Zone Chairman James Kiser of Buies Creek who recently assumed the post and is visiting each of the eight clubs in his zone, or section of District 31-F. The past president of the Buies Creek Lions said he is urging all Lions Clubs to get acquainted with one another by holding joint meetings or sharing in project work.

George Kostrewa , chairman of the N.C. Lions Vision Van visit in Sanford July 11-12 reported on a very successful event. Lion volunteers screened 144 citizens and a number of those were referred for professional eye exams, Kostrewa said. He thanked all members who participated in the project along with Wal-Mart for its cooperation.

President Richard Hendley presided over the meeting while Bill Whiteman delivered the invocation and introduced the guest speaker. Tommy Mann, Sr. led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance.