When Vietnam-era Army veteran Lawrence “Larry” Leugoud prepared to return home from service in the Army, his sergeant gave him some advice.
“Do yourself a favor. Don’t wear your uniform,” Leugoud recalled his sergeant’s warning, much to his confusion and surprise. Still, he heeded the advice.
After two years of service, Leugoud was still a young man learning about the world. He didn’t know much about the Vietnam “conflict,” as it was called, and said schools didn’t teach about it.
Leugoud was just 18 years old when he was drafted into the Army in April 1966. That year saw the largest draft of men from selective service for the Vietnam War, which Leugoud said was supposed to be a short conflict.
Thinking back about his time in the service, he recalled his military occupational specialty was aviation hydraulic repair, learning his new skill and how to take care of simple tasks independently. Being a young man away from home for the first time, men he knew were shipped to Europe, Germany, and, of course, to the war in Vietnam. After he completed his service, he learned of the harsh circumstances other veterans who had served experienced at homecoming.
“They’re coming from Vietnam, landing at San Francisco, and these kids are just standing in line spitting at them, calling them baby killers,” he said.
At the time when Leugoud was drafted, President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, followed by Martin Luther King Jr., and cities across the U.S., especially Chicago, were in political and societal upheaval. Service members were shamed, not applauded.
So, when Leugoud’s daughter, Cheryl, signed him up for an Honor Flight, he wasn’t sure if it was for him.
“I thought it was just for veterans who fought in Vietnam. I wasn’t a hero. I was stateside, you know?” Leugoud said.
However, he learned Honor Flight honors all senior veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam, whether they served in combat or not.
Nonprofit organization Honor Flight Chicago is part of the hub of Honor Flights nationwide. It honors veterans with a trip, who then are treated as heroes as they tour Washington, D.C., to see the memorials erected in their honor.
After about a two-year wait, with a dedicated Honor Flight contact providing plenty of updates to Leugoood and his wife, Chris, it was finally his turn to be honored on April 9.
“My God, it was great. I served my 24 months, and these people are coming forward and congratulating me on what I did, and I just did my duty,” Leugoud humbly said.
Leugoud described how the fire department extended its ladders to hose down the plane and how more people than he could count congratulated and thanked him. When he arrived at the airport, he heard drums and music and wondered what it was for.
It turned out it was for the arrival of his Honor Flight.
“The airport was just full of people. I mean, kids, adults, everybody else lining up, wishing you the best, shaking your hand, and thanking you. It was amazing. I’m just going, thank you, thank you, thank you back to them, you know. And then I saw my wife and my family,” Leugoud said with a smile.
“I think it’s important to recognize and respect and honor our veterans. Fellas who are in service right now, they came out, too, and I told those guys, I said thank you. You’re here doing your job of protecting our country at this time. I always tried to protect our country at my time,” Leugoud added.
The experience was a memorable, awe-inspiring event for Leugoud, who noted it was incredibly well organized, and he felt very taken care of during the trip.
He mentioned there were attentive medical personnel on the flight to ensure all the veterans were safe, that they had medications as needed, and everyone had a wheelchair, because it was a lot of walking.
He was amazed at the size of the Vietnam Wall, which he got to see for the first time. He also talked about seeing the marble Korean War “Wall of Remembrance” memorial and the World War II memorial. The airplanes in the aviation museum were of particular interest to Leugoud, having been involved with the aviation unit during his time in the service.
One of his favorite parts was during the flight when they did “mail call,” in which letters and cards from loved ones, kids in school who learned about the honor flight, and more were delivered to the veterans to read. He said it was one thing everyone looked forward to while away in service, and the amount of mail he received was incredible, which he attributed to his family.
Leugoud couldn’t say enough great things about his experience on the Honor Flight, the keepsakes he received, the time he spent talking with the other veterans about their time of service, the sightseeing, and how he was treated like a hero.
He urged all eligible veterans to take the flight. Honor Flight Chicago always is looking for veterans to honor, particularly WWII or Korean War veterans, as many have not experienced an honor flight but should.
Those interested in submitting a veteran for an honor flight should visit honorflightchicago.org.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.