The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness.
Good Afternoon
By definition, a veteran is a person who has served in the military.
Every enlisted person takes the following oath:
"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I
will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of
the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform
Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
Did you notice, the word “until” does not appear anywhere.
I am Michael Gibney. I served 6 years and 28 days on active duty with the
United States Air Force and an additional 3 years, 5 months and 24 days
with the Maine Air National Guard. I spent 10 months and 4 days in South
East Asia. I had two major surgeries performed in a military hospital. I am
a disabled veteran. My attempt today is to enlighten you about the Vietnam
Veterans of America. Ground forces were removed from Vietnam in 1973
and US involvement ended in 1975. When I entered the United States Air
Force there were approx. 2,360,000 Americans on active duty with the
various military services, as of 2019 that number was approx. 1.360,000.
In 2019 it was estimated there were 610,000 Vietnam veterans still alive.
Safe to presume that number is lower today. The veteran of today is
honored and respected. When I left active duty that was not the case.
We kept our status as a veteran a well-guarded secret. Usually, only family
members knew of our service.
Vietnam was the first war fought with a dinner audience and being narrated
by either David Brinkley, Walter Cronkite or Howard K Smith. The news
also provided score cards identifying the number killed that day, week,
month and year to date. Although the information presented was factual, it
was easily perceived and spun with a negative impact. Support of the war
waned and unfortunately, the Vietnam veteran bore the blunt of that
disapproval. There were no ticker tape parades, no thank you’s, no
acknowledgement or appreciation for their service to country. I can tell you
from personal experience, I have been spat on in uniform twice, once in a
foreign country and once here in the United States. A lot of those
veterans felt lost, thus the formation in the late 1970s of the Vietnam
Veterans of America. The Vietnam Veterans of America is the only
congressionally chartered national veterans’ service organization dedicated
to serving veterans of the Vietnam war. Using 1975 as the end date, if an
individual was 18 years old then, that person would be 64 years old today.
Safe to say the youngest Vietnam veteran in at least 64 years old. I
acknowledge the Vietnam Veterans of America is a dying organization. We
know our days are numbered but to the last person, we continue to honor
our motto “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another!”
The Vietnam Veterans of America provides support to all veterans with a
need. There used to be five chapters in Maine, today only one chapter
remains. Chapter 1044 of the Vietnam Veterans of America is housed in
the basement of the American Legion building at 508 Elm Street in
Biddeford. Currently Chapter 1044 has approx. 180 members. I have the
honor of serving as the chapter secretary since 2019. Examples of some
past services of Chapter 1044, was to provide an honor guard at funerals
and perform a fallen warrior ceremony for the public on Memorial Day. Due
to decreasing numbers, we had to disband the honor guard. We provide
space for fellowship to allow veterans to speak with other veterans. We
have provided and will provide heating fuel assistance to veterans in need.
They only have to prove they are a veteran with a need and the chapter will
provide up to 100 gallons of heating fuel. We contact a company in the
servicing area and supply the fuel, we do not give money to the individual.
We have and will provide gift cards from a local supermarket to provide
groceries to a veteran in need. We have and will provide warm socks and
clothing to homeless veterans. We have two certified service officers who
will provide assistance to veterans and their spouses to navigate and file
claims for entitled benefits from the Veterans Administration. These are not
handouts but entitled benefits earned while serving on active duty. Again,
the service we provide is to all veterans, not just the Vietnam veteran. We
receive no federal funds, no state allocations. Monies received are through
donations and fund-raising efforts. Prior to Covid 19 we manned donation
tables at various business throughout the area, we manned donation tables
at the Kennebunk service plaza off the turnpike. We had public dinners
and such. We have a trailer in front of our location on Elm Street for
donated bottles and cans which we process at a local redemption
center. Covid has certainly put a damper on our fund raising. Currently
we offer a dinner, salad, soup/sandwich for sale every Saturday noon to
2:00. That along with the bottles and cans are currently our only source of
income. I am not here to ask for donations, however if you feel the desire to
donate, we will not refuse. My purpose today is to make you aware of our
existence and what we do. If you have returnable cans or bottles you want
to donate, just place the bag in the trailer. If you are looking for a meal on
Saturday, stop by between noon and 2pm. If you know of a veteran who is
struggling, tell them about us and maybe we can steer them in the right
direction. Again, the service we provide is for all veterans. The Vietnam
veteran of today bears no ill will towards the recognition today’s veteran
receives, in fact we honor it!
In opening I provided my service history, how many of you thought I was
wounded in Vietnam? I was not. I entered the Air Force in October of
1972, after 6 weeks of basic training at Lackland AFB TX, I was stationed
at Charleston AFS, ME. A radar site approx. 30 miles NW of Bangor. In
June of 1973 I suffered a serious leg injury while playing on the base
softball team requiring two major surgeries at Loring AFB. In March of 1975
I was assigned to a Tactical Unit Operations Center at Udorn RTAFB in
Thailand. Upon arrival we prepared to support the evacuation of US
personnel from Vientiane, Laos; which never happened.
Mid-April we supported Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of US
personnel from Phnom Penh, Cambodia; end of April we supported
Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of US personnel from Saigon,
South Vietnam. In May of 1975 we supported the rescue of the SS
Mayaguez, a container ship seized by Cambodia. Due to the involvement
of the US military stationed in Thailand with the Mayaguez rescue the
government of Thailand ordered our removal from Thailand by years end.
The rest of my tour of duty was uneventful and I returned back to the states
in January of 1976 and was assigned to HQ TACCOMAREA at Langley
AFB, VA until my discharge in October of 1978. I then became a member
of the Maine ANG at Bangor until April of 1982. In opening, the information
I provided was factual, just with a different spin; much like the news
presented toward the Vietnam veteran during the time. My disability was
awarded in 2017. At the time of my discharge from active-duty veterans
were not completely briefed on their benefits. I was not aware I could file
for disability. The VVA helped me by letting me know I was entitled
because disability is awarded for service connection, not just combat
related.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today and thank you for your
service to the community!!
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Service Above Self
Saco, ME 04072
United States of America