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Patience, hard work prevails for 2 |
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Wednesday, 02 April 2008 |
Cliff Buchan
News Editor
Diane Finnemann is proof that if you work hard enough, you can accomplish your goals.
Ron Lasiuta is proof that if you have patience, good things will happen, even if you have to wait nearly 40 years.
The two Forest Lake residents were at the center of a positive conclusion on Saturday as they took part in Forest Lake’s first Vietnam Veterans Day celebration. It was the first official observance in Minnesota of the newly created state holiday.
For Finnemann, the celebration marked the end of a long and determined push to achieve a day of recognition for the state’s Vietnam veterans who returned home from what is now known as American’s most unpopular war.
It was Finnemann’s efforts — supported by many Vietnam vets and her family — that persuaded state lawmakers and the governor to adopt the holiday.
For Lasiuta, a Vietnam vet who grew up in Detroit, it was a day that saw the delivery of a Purple Heart that was never awarded after he was wounded in action in Vietnam in 1969.
The medal ceremony came as a surprise for Lasiuta who served as master of ceremonies for the program at the Hardwood Creek Library at the new county government services building in Forest Lake.
More than 200 veterans and area residents turned out for the celebration.
A big day
It was truly a big day for Vietnam veterans and those who came to the Forest Lake branch library to honor those vets who served during the Vietnam conflict.
It was also a day for hugs and the thoughtful words of Forest Lake resident Jim Noll, an Army veteran who served two tours in Vietnam, receiving the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. In all, Noll served 31 years in the military with duty in the first Gulf War before retiring as a full colonel.
“The veterans who had fought in Vietnam felt a great lack of recognition for their sacrifices in their own country,” Noll said.
“Today, these same veterans for the first time feel a sense of belated validation to their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their comrades who did not come home. Today, Vietnam Veterans Day grants us veterans a legitimacy and honor that we have not always felt.
“So many of us, for so long kept our feelings inside ourselves. No one wanted to hear about the war when we first came home, and so we never talked about it. Not to our best friends, not our families.
“On the rare occasions when we did, no one understood, or worse yet, even wanted to. Our children more often than not would grow up knowing only that their fathers were in the war, but not what battles or what units they were in.
“Nearly 40 years later, Vietnam was still the defining experience in so many of their lives. No one, saved the others who had gone, had offered the proper respect for what they had done and why they had done it, back when it had mattered. It was as if a critical part of the experience, the validity of it as judged and valued by others had been stolen from them.
“Today changes a lot of that. What a great day today is for the recognition of the Vietnam veterans. We can be so proud that our city of Forest Lake was the first city in Minnesota to make this proclamation, and our state of Minnesota to be the first in country to proclaim March 29th as Vietnam Veterans Day.
“Today, we can hold our heads high!”
Day of honors
The March 29th observance marks a day in history when the final U.S. troops left Vietnam 35 years ago.
For Finnemann, it was an effort with special meaning. Not only did the Forest Lake woman feel it was time for those vets who came home to parade and few hugs to be recognized, it was also a time for family healing.
Finnemann’s only brother, Skip Schmidt, served with honors in Vietnam only to return home and take his own life as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder. It was 20 years after his death when the family, with information provided by North Branch author Chris Sauro who served in Vietnam with Schmidt, came to understand the full story of his service in Vietnam.
The Schmidt family on Saturday presented a $500 scholarship to Blake Rod of Wyoming. The Forest Lake High School senior won the first Vietnam Veterans scholarship as part of an essay contest.
The United Veterans Legislative Council was also on hand Saturday to present a $1000 check to the scholarship fund for future years.
It was also a big day for Lasiuta, the sometime boisterous Forest Lake man who is known to dominate a room and a conversation. He was speechless near the close of the program Saturday, however, when Noll presented Lasiuta with one of his two Purple Hearts.
The presentation was followed by a standing ovation, something few Vietnam vets received when they returned home from the war.
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