Times-Herald - Vallejo's Vietnam vets honored

By Richard Freedman -

Some will come because they were asked. Some will come because they figure it's about time.

Some can't make it. And others won't come because the memories are far too painful.

Still, 557 local Vietnam veterans will be saluted at the Vallejo Veterans Memorial Building on Saturday — the 50th anniversary of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution of the conflict that took the lives of more than 58,000 American troops.

Vallejo City Councilmember Robert McConnell, one of the 1 p.m. event speakers and a Vietnam veteran, said the tribute "is long overdue."

"It's so great that we have over 500 local Vietnam veterans who are willing to come forward and be recognized," McConnell said.

Event coordinator Nestor Aliga, who served in the Marine Corps and Army and grew up in Vallejo in the 1960s, said it's his way of "giving back to our beloved America as I immigrated to Vallejo in 1967."

It's all worth it, Aliga said.

"I've gotten a lot of voicemails, a lot of emails, from veterans thanking me," Aliga said. "But it's not about me. I didn't go to Vietnam. I was at Camp Pendleton. This is for the veterans who went to war."

The honored veterans or their families will receive a packet that includes: A presidential proclamation and certificates from U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, the State of California, County of Solano, and City of Vallejo.

It's all a good thing, said Solano County Supervisor and former Vallejo Councilmember Erin Hannigan. Her father, former state Sen. Tom Hannigan, is a Vietnam veteran.

Also, said Hannigan, her great uncle, Jack Mape, was a Navy fighter pilot MIA in Vietnam for 30 years.

"The Vietnam War was impactful for my family and it changed the future of seven of my cousins," she said. "When I was a young during the war, I remember watching the news coverage of many events associated with it."

Aliga said it's time local vets are honored, not despised as many were upon their return home. Many, he said, were spat on and many were told not to put their service on job applications.

"I'm always dismayed that American soldiers who answered the call of duty to serve in this ware were not honored upon their return for bravery and heroism," Hannigan said. "It's time we fixed that."

It's important, said Aliga, that each vet attending the ceremony receive a certificate with his name and not just a generic "Thanks for your service" inscription.

"I've been told by many that it's the first time" they are being individually acknowledged, Aliga said.

Aliga gathered the Vallejo vets' names from the eight veterans organizations in town.

"I said, 'Make sure they're Vallejoans' and they got me 557 names," he said.

Aliga believes it will be one of the most extensive ceremonies of the 50th anniversary in the country, confirming that two Pentagon representatives are attending to perhaps replicate the format in other cities.

Aliga, 58, said he's received hundreds of calls and emails from veterans in other Solano County communities asking to be included.

"The organizations in those cities should honor their own veterans," Aliga said.

Aliga began a tribute to veterans in 2011, honoring World War II vets. In 2012, he got behind honoring Solano County Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. In 2013, 424 local Korean war veterans were saluted.

Next year is the 25th anniversary of Desert Storm, so it looks as though Aliga and others will be honoring Gulf War veterans. Some believed it should wait until the 30th anniversary.

"But I thought it should be the 25th, while we're healthy enough," Aliga said. "In five years, we'll be older and maybe not as healthy."

Again, he reiterated, it's "to honor all the veterans who paved the way for me. Where else in the world can an immigrant become a colonel?"