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Jose Ramos has been waiting a long time for this
recognition. He was 19 when he went to Vietnam as a
medic.
"On February 19, 1968, we walked into a perfectly executed
ambush. Within a couple of minutes I had 8 men dead, two died
later, and it was always my fault."
Like so many other veterans, Ramos struggled when he returned
home to East Los Angeles. War had left its mark:
"As a medic, I didn't save all the eyes, all the limbs, I
didn't save all the lives, and when I came home there was a
tremendous amount of guilt for being a survivor. I'm sure
for along time I confused God because in Vietnam, I begged him not
to let me die and when I came home, I questioned him, why did you
let me live?"
Ramos became addicted to drugs and alcohol and in 1994 he
tried to kill himself. He planned to make it look like an
accident so his family would still get his death benefits. But
after getting treatment, he began to find a new purpose: The
creation of a special day to recognize Vietnam Veterans, who were
often not welcomed home after the unpopular war:
"America wanted to heal this wound. They just didn't
know that they wanted to heal this wound."
Ramos began his campaign nearly a decade ago - standing on
street corners, asking people to sign petitions. He bicycled
from his home in Whittier California to Washington D.C. And
last year, Governor Schwarzenegger made it official in California
by signing a bill that creates "Welcome home Vietnam Veterans day"
every March 30. That's the date the final combat troops left
Vietnam in 1973. The Governor says Ramos' persistence paid
off:
"This is what's so special about this guy. He comes
up with the idea and then he is like a tick. He hangs on you
and he fights and he fights and he fights until he gets it
done."
Recently, Governor Schwarzenegger joined Ramos as well
as a number of other Vietnam Veterans - and actor Jon Voight - to
celebrate the occasion. The group gathered in front of the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the State Capitol grounds:
"Now we have a proclamation that we want to give
you. Jose Ramos is going to get this proclamation to
recognize welcome home….clapping
Actor Jon Voight says he's ashamed of the way America treated
its veterans when they returned from Vietnam - and he says
California's new annual day of celebration contains an important
lesson:
"Let today be a reminder to honor our heroes when they are
called to serve this country. Under no circumstance shall we
ever turn our backs on them again. May God bless all the
suffering souls of this forgotten war."
"We're remembering the fallen, but we're standing up for
the living. This is a living memorial."
After the ceremony, Jose Ramos was in high spirits as he
showed off his framed proclamation with the Governor's
signature.
"I've met a lot of veterans who are finally able to
say, you know what I am a Vietnam Veteran, and I am coming
home. They've never acknowledged it, they've never admitted it
but they're doing it today. Today they're proud to be Vietnam
Veterans."
And Ramos isn't done yet. His next goal is to get federal
legislation passed to create a special day for Vietnam Veterans all
over the country
