Photo By Seaman Jack Lepien | 190329-N-RD550-0007 NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (March 29, 2019) - Retired U.S. Marine Col. Lyle...... read more read more
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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (April 3, 2019) – National Vietnam War Veterans Day is observed every year, March 29, to thank and honor Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) welcomed retired Col. Lyle Mathews, a Marine Corps veteran from Eldora, Iowa, who served during the Vietnam War, as the guest speaker during the heritage committee’s commemoration ceremony to honor Vietnam War veterans.
Mathews served two tours in Vietnam. The first was from 1965 to 1966 and the second was from 1969 to 1970. During his first tour as a ground artillery officer, Mathews served as the forward observer on Hill 185 where he called in targets for artillery strikes. For his second tour of duty, he was the commanding officer of the 3rd 175 Battery.
“For the second tour, I was the commanding officer,” said Mathews. “I had many guys working for me, and they were working hard. Those shells weighed about 150 pounds, so it was some heavy lifting. When you have so many folks looking up to you for leadership you really have to walk the straight and narrow path to set the example. It is definitely a challenge.”
After completing his two tours in Vietnam, Mathews went on to be the Provost Marshal as the commanding officer of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow. In 1989, Mathews retired from the Marine Corps as the commanding officer of Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.
As part of the commemoration ceremony, members from George Washington’s heritage committee highlighted some of the history from the Vietnam War. Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Rafael Eseo, from New Jersey, spoke about some of the medical advances made during the war.
“Many of the medical advances we have today for treating those in Afghanistan and Iraq stem from the Vietnam War and other past wars,” said Eseo. “Treating the kinds of trauma and casualties we have now came because of the sacrifices from the Vietnam War.”
Upon returning home, many service members faced scrutiny from the public.
“When this generation went to war in Vietnam they did not come home to standing ovations; they did not come home to “support the troops,” said Capt. Glenn Jamison, from Kentshill, Maine, commanding officer of George Washington. “In fact, many of them came home to disdain. We did what we needed to do at that time, and we need to celebrate the fact that we had a whole bunch of warriors that did what our country needed them to do. That is what we are coming together for here today.”
The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence for the 1,589 that have yet to return home from the Vietnam War. By Presidential Proclamation, the Vietnam War Commemoration will continue through Veterans Day, Nov 11, 2025.
Join the conversation with GW online at www.facebook.com/USSGW and www.twitter.com/GW_CVN73. For more news from USS George Washington, visit www. Navy.mil/local/cvn73/.
| Date Taken: | 04.03.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 04.11.2019 09:15 |
| Story ID: | 317376 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | ELDORA, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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