Our "Anniversary Trip" ... Wonderful!

I'm going to do my best to share our wonderful weekend, but I know I won't do it justice.  Sometimes you just can't "retell" all the emotion and excitement of an event, and this is one of those times. 
We left home Friday morning without the usual stress of being on the road at a specified time!  That may seem a small thing to many, but to me it's huge!  Normally, by the time I get in the car and we are on the road it takes about twenty miles to settle down and start enjoying the ride!  This time, we had no rush, no racing around trying to make sure everything was done and nothing forgotten.  Great start.
We stopped in Cedar Rapids for breakfast, and when we left there it was raining.  It rained the entire rest of the day!  In fact, we didn't know it until later, but several places just to the west of Des Moines received 7-9" of rain! In spite of the rain and poor visibility, we made good time and arrived in Clear Lake just after noon.  We were able to check into our room early, and then we went to the Surf Ballroom.  We spent over an hour just looking at pictures and reading articles about the history of the place, as well as all the stories about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P."The Big Bopper" Richardson.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be most interesting.

Later, we met my friend, Connie.  It was because of Connie's thoughtful gift that we made this trip.  She sent Dennis a T-shirt and a souvenir book of an upcoming event in nearby Forest City.  The event was called Operation LZ and the purpose of the event was to give Vietnam veterans a proper "welcome home" and thank them for their service.  But, I'm getting ahead of my story.  Anyway, Connie and I met when we worked at Heatilator, back in 1986.  We worked well together, in fact really enjoyed working together and became friends in spite of job changes and relocations.  We don't see each other often, but I still count her as a very good friend.  So, we enjoyed spending Friday evening with Connie.
Saturday morning we drove the short distance to Forest City for the Operation LZ event.  We arrived fairly early and learned that they wanted veterans to register.  So, making our way to the registration area, we were impressed with the venue, and the number of volunteers.  I believe the place was called Heritage Park, and it was 91 acres in size.  It was huge! 
At the registration tent, Dennis was given a commemorative medal, a "thank you for your service", and a big hug from a very attractive lady.  Already, he's enjoying this event!  They then asked him to write his name on a huge map of Vietnam. He was to write it in the location where he served.  He was also given a free meal ticket. 

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall (replica) was there.  It's hard to express the feelings that wall evokes.  For the first several minutes, we just looked at it, speechless. I tried to get a picture, but it's so big I couldn't get it all even using the panoramic setting.  There were folks there to help locate names of those we knew who had given the ultimate sacrifice.  I was in high school when my friend's brother was killed in Vietnam.  There are 58,491 names on that wall! 

Dennis points to Billy Marlin's name

The best moment of the day came after we'd just randomly wandered into a big tent.  While we were looking at the things on display, a young lady approached Dennis and asked if he'd received an official commendation and thank you from the Department of Defense.  She very sincerely thanked him for his sacrifice and service, and she pinned a lapel pin on him commending him for his service.  I'm not an emotional pushover, but that really brought the tears to my eyes and put a big lump in my throat! 

We listened to several different speakers, each one specifically thanking Vietnam veterans for their service.  All of them were Vietnam veterans, and they were sometimes entertaining, sometimes inspiring, and always very interesting.  I don't recall the names of the speakers, except for Governor Branstadt, but I do remember one had spent seven years in the "Hanoi Hotel" as a POW.  Seven years!  Can't imagine!  The audience was huge.  I wish we knew how many were there.  I'd guess several thousand people.  The photo shows a lot of the folks seated in front of us.  There were about as many standing  as were seated. 

There was also an Air Show, music by Rocky Lynne, and a whole lot more.  It was a wonderful day!  We're so glad Connie thought of Dennis and sent him that package!  Had she not, we'd have missed out.  So, Connie....if you're reading this, thank you!

Sunday we headed west to Spencer.  I finally got to meet Terry and Jacquie Heinrichs.

Dennis and Terry served together in Vietnam as part of the 199th LIB.  There's a special bond or brotherhood for men who serve together.  We enjoyed visiting and sharing a meal with Terry and Jacquie.  Dennis and Terry reminisced while looking through a photo album together.  It was the perfect way to end a very special weekend!  Our drive home was uneventful, and as much fun as it was, it's always good to get home!