501st CSW honors Vietnam veterans during National Prayer events

  • Published
  • By Capt. Brian Maguire
  • 501st Combat Support Wing Public Affairs
RAF CROUGHTON, United Kingdom --  Two guest speakers shared personal messages of hope and sacrifice during National Prayer events at RAF Menwith Hill and RAF Croughton Feb. 12 and 13 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

Retired U.S. Army Chaplain (Col.) William Carter and U.S. Air Force Chaplain (Capt.) Joseph Tran, 422nd Air Base Group chaplain, shared their experiences from the military and civilian perspectives in Vietnam.

Carter served two tours in Vietnam as a chaplain, where he experienced two aspects of the war. During his first tour- early in the conflict - his first daughter was born, while his second tour followed the Tet Offensive as public support for the war waned.

"Most of the Soldiers I was working with were basically trying to survive," Carter said. "The will of the nation had disappeared in terms of supporting the effort there in Vietnam, so that was a really difficult tour."

His experiences in combat reinforced the need for chaplains and the role they played in military units.

"I was involved in several major battles and again, my key role was in terms of being with the wounded and those dying," Carter said. "I really found out in combat what chaplains are all about."

As Carter returned to family life and his new role as father, he found the transition difficult.

"When I returned from that assignment, it was Saigon to San Francisco to Washington, D.C., there was no reentry process," Carter said. "That was a real struggle. We had trouble readjusting and being back together - we have now been married more than 50 years, so we succeeded."

Carter was proud to share the podium with Tran, who offered his experiences from the other side of a country at war. Tran was born in Saigon at the start of the Tet Offensive, one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War.

"My mom was about to give birth, so she arranged a taxi from Bien Hoa Air Base to a hospital in Saigon," Tran said. "Along the road the fighting was still fierce between the Vietcong and Republic of Vietnam soldiers."

Due to the heavy fighting and efforts to protect the capital, the Republic of Vietnam forces stopped Tran's mother from entering the city. She knew her brother was on duty at the checkpoint at the time and when she found him he allowed her entry to reach the hospital. Overhead, Tran's uncle was in a helicopter overseeing the battle and directed troops to protect Tran's mother on her way to the hospital where she gave birth to Tran.

"Their sacrifice gave birth to my hope," Tran said. "Without them, mom and I had no hope to be alive, but freshly killed by the communists."

For all they experienced, both Carter's and Tran's lives were shaped by the war in Vietnam. The sacrifices they and their families endured gave way to hope after the conflict.

"Hope is born of sacrifice," Tran said. "The sacrifice of the generation before gave birth to the hope of my generation."