At Fort Hood, a Welcome Home for Veterans of a War Long Past FORT HOOD, Tex. - This welcome-home ceremony seemed like many held at the largest Army base in the country, although a little more elaborate. There were cheering families outfitted in red, white and blue, many carrying posters and flags. The multistory III Corps banner billowed in the wind as hundreds of soldiers stood in formation on the expansive parade ground waiting for the buses of troops. But small details revealed that this was no typical ceremony. Aretha Franklin's 1967 hit "Respect" blared at full volume. Many of the posters congratulated grandfathers for serving. A few older men were brought onto the parade ground in wheelchairs. A long line of white school buses pulled up in front of the parade ground. Out poured crowds of men in their 60s and 70s, wearing black "Vietnam Veteran" baseball caps. A few wore their original dress uniforms, and one former Army Ranger still fit into his green fatigues. A receiving line of active duty soldiers stood waiting to shake their hands. A Huey helicopter, with its distinctive thop, thop, thop, made slow loops overhead and some veterans turned and waved. "Ladies and gentleman, America's heroes are home!" yelled Lt. Gen. Don Campbell, commander of Fort Hood and III Corps. Welcome home, Vietnam veterans! Hooah. This was the first welcome-home ceremony for Vietnam veterans held at Fort Hood and, like most things in Texas, it was big and considered the most elaborate in the country with over 600 veterans and another 600 guests in attendance. "I feel personally that I'm finally home," Gen. Robert M. Shoemaker, now retired, who served three tours in Vietnam and later led the United States Army Forces Command, told the crowd. That may be one of the great legacies of Vietnam. The nation has vowed never to make that mistake again of failing to honor the warriors even if we don't appreciate the wars. Welcome-home ceremonies for Vietnam veterans have been going on in small towns and at military installations, like Fort Campbell and Fort Benning, over the last three years as commandeers and politicians, many with family members who served in Vietnam, decided that these older veterans needed their own recognition after returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were warmly received. The 50th anniversary of the start of the Vietnam War this year and the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq have given an added boost to these celebrations. "It's about time," said Lt. Gen. Paul Funk, now retired, who served in Vietnam, led the Third Armored Division in Operation Desert Storm and later commanded troops at III Corps and Fort Hood. I really think that people feel guilty now, and they're doing as much as they can. On Memorial Day, President Obama will attend an anniversary ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with 6,000 veterans scheduled to attend. Although the event is intended as a kickoff for a national effort to honor Vietnam veterans, the Defense Department has no other large events planned for the day and its efforts have seemingly been marred by problems. A Defense Department spokeswoman said they hoped to partner with community groups to host other events after the ceremony. When Lt. Gen. Don Campbell assumed command of Fort Hood and III Corps last year, he wanted to host a welcome-home ceremony for Vietnam veterans after attending so many for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. It also helped that his father is a Vietnam veteran who never received an official welcome. "It hit me in the gut when the buses rolled up," General Campbell said. It was very emotional to see the vets in the windows and then to walk into the crowd and have them hug me and thank me. I hope it gives them some kind of closure that they can move on and continue to serve. If the throngs of Vietnam veterans who surrounded General Campbell to shake his hand or hug him were any indication, the gathering was a hit. "It really touched me here," said Robert Stevens, 64, from Lampasas, Tex., pointing to his chest. I think this is something we've been missing all this time, said Mr. Stevens, who served two tours in Vietnam as an Army pilot. What General Campbell has done is just awesome. His wife, Lee, said General Campbell "made it seem like we were welcoming them home." "It took 40 years, and it seemed real," she said. While some veterans said some of their friends refused to attend the Fort Hood ceremony because it was "too little, too late," most were happy for any recognition, even if it came more than four decades after they returned home. "It's never too late in my opinion," said John Rowan, national president of Vietnam Veterans of America, a nonprofit advocacy group in Silver Spring, Md. Let's do it while we're still alive and kicking. Ceremonies for Vietnam veterans are likely to continue through 2015 to honor a variety of important milestones in the war, like the fall of Saigon. While the start and end dates for the Vietnam War are much debated, 1962 was selected by the Defense Department because it was the United States" first combat mission against the Viet Cong. The date made little difference to the veterans and their families at Fort Hood. The only thing important, they said, was that this welcome back was even happening. "It was a big honor to stand in for him since he couldn't be here," said Nathan Childs of Kempner, Tex., who cradled a large framed photograph of his father, Lovey Childs, a retired command sergeant who died in February. He would have really enjoyed this, and I don't think there is a better way to honor him. Some veterans were hesitant to attend and needed a little encouragement. Diane Logan saw a newspaper advertisement for the ceremony and used it to persuade husband, James, who served in an aviation unit with the Marines during the war. "He's not one for accolades," she said with a grin as she wrapped an arm around him. Mr. Logan, who still looked like a young Marine, with a flat stomach and ramrod posture, said he had decided to attend to "maybe get a little closure." "This will help erase the memory of how I came home and was spat on," said Mr. Logan, 67, of Copperas Cove, Tex. Most of the veterans at Fort Hood said they had taken civilian flights back to the states after the war, and took off their uniforms so they could blend in and avoid protestors. Others said they kept their military service off their résumés and did not tell people they had served in the war. "We went into the closet and didn't tell anyone we were Vietnam vets," said William Whittaker, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1000 of Central Texas, who drove an Army truck in the war. We're coming out now. Kristina Shevory served eight years in the Army as a linguist. She has written for The New York Times, Wired, Business Week and The Atlantic. You can follow her on Twitter at @shevory.