Most Americans — about 94% of us, in fact — do not know what it’s like to be a veteran.
It’s also an experience that many veterans themselves seldom ponder.
“Let me think about that,” requested Steve Stanton of Suttons Bay Township, who served in Vietnam, when asked what it’s like to be a veteran in Leelanau County. It was moments after a touching Veterans Day ceremony had concluded at the Little Finger Post of the VFW.
A few moments later, he reflected, “I think about the Honor Flight I was on. That was probably the most meaningful thing that I’ve ever done. I stood before those who came before me at Arlington (Cemetery).”
“I was proud to serve my country,” he continued, adding that he now serves veterans as the Leelanau County citizen representative on the Grand Traverse County Veterans Affairs Administrative Committee.
Pride in serving their country came mostly from within during the dark years for armed service members returning from Vietnam. Regardless of how honorably they served, public appreciation was rare from non-military families. They were booed and spat upon at airports.
“We weren’t welcome back,” he said.
That’s changed. Stanton recalled being thanked for his service by a friend — and being caught off guard.
“One day he said to me, and it was the first time, thank you for your service. Now (Congressman) Jack Bergman, who was on the Honor Flight, thinks it should be changed to, ‘Thank you for our freedom.’ It’s what I enjoy as an American. I appreciate you thanking me for my service, but thanking me for our freedom is a mouthful,” he said.
Mike Zeits, a lifelong resident of Leland Township, said military service made him a better person.
“I got into trouble here, and it was catching up to me. I said, ‘To heck with it, I’m not going to get buried by this stuff if I stay here.’” Zeits became an airplane mechanic in the Navy, serving at Midway Island in the South Pacific and Naval Base Coronado near San Diego during the Vietnam War.
“When I look back at it, to be honest, it made me grow up. It made me what I am today, and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Zeits said.
The hour-long program touched David Brigham of Northport.
“I had tears in my eyes sitting here,” he said.
Brigham boxed up his Vietnam experiences on his flight out of the war-torrn country, much like his mother packaged up his military papers, medals and news stories. After enlisting he was deemed to possess a mechanic’s proficiency. He was entered into a crash course to maintain Huey helicopters, then in Vietnam he was promoted to a Huey crew chief and gunner. His one year deployment was dominated by 200 airborne combat missions.
It wasn’t until years later that he looked online for a description of his wartime job. Included was an estimate of days served before becoming a casualty. It was two weeks.
“When you’re that age (21-years-old), you think you’re invincible. You haven’t confronted the realities that come with life,” Brigham said.
It wasn’t until years later, after his mother had passed, that he came upon that box of memories his mother had carefully packed and stored.
“It wasn’t until I opened that box that I really thought about my service,” Brigham said. “We were basically sitting ducks. I was one of the lucky ones. We never got shot down and I never had blood in my aircraft.”
So what’s it like being a veteran in Leelanau County?
“It’s a reflection not only on my personal life and experience but our challenges as a country and as Americans. It’s a big ball of emotional energy that I feel,” he said.
