Saturday, September 29th, 2018
Local family fulfills late soldier's wish
Vet wanted to view memorial
By Sydney Albert
Submitted Photo
Larry Amweg poses for a photo during his service in Vietnam.
CELINA - Vietnam War veteran Jerry Amweg had wanted to fly to Washington, D.C., to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for himself.
However, he had lost his battle with lung cancer, a disease that has been linked to the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, before he could fulfill his wish. His wife and daughter decided they still wanted to fulfill his wish post mortem, and with the help of the nonprofit Honor Flight Network, they made it come true by sending Amweg's flag to the nation's capital. Honor Flight officials took photos of the flag at the Vietnam memorial and then returned it to the family.
Amweg served in Vietnam from April 1968 to May 1969 as a mechanic on the front lines. Carie Amweg recalled how her husband used to tell her about the first day he was sent overseas - his plane took off on April Fool's Day, and he kept thinking they would turn the plane around, she said.
When he eventually did return home, it was to the same cold reception and calls of "baby killer" and "child killer" that many other Vietnam veterans received. For the Amwegs, the past treatment of Vietnam veterans was one of the reasons a trip to the memorial in D.C. was so important.
"It means something to them," Carie Amweg said.
For Vietnam veterans especially, the Honor Flight, a program that flies veterans to visit the memorials in the capital, can give a sense that they're finally getting the respect from their nation that they had been denied upon their initial return.
Carie Amweg encouraged other veteran families to look into this type of trip before it is too late. Her husband had been battling cancer since she'd first met him, and though he was in remission for some time, his illness came back with a vengeance before he could make the trip.
People never know when their last day will be, she warned.
Correction:
Jerry Amweg's flag was taken to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Honor Flight. His name was incorrect in the article. The error was made in reporting. [The online article has been corrected.]
Submitted Photo
Even post mortem, services like those provided by the Honor Flight Network mean much to veteran families, including Amweg's wife and daughter. Larry Amweg's daughter Payton holds her father's flag upon its return from Washington, D.C.
