Lisa Reno joined the 'Return to Nam' send-off at Menasha High School on the morning of February 25th. She was hand delivering her Father-in-Law, Burt Parkman, to the starting point of a two-week journey back to Vietnam for 52 Northeast Wisconsin veterans. “It is kind of emotional seeing everybody being sent off,” said Reno. “I know this means a lot to a lot of the Veterans for the ones who are willing to go.”
While Reno sends off her Father-in-Law on the latest in the 10 year series of Old Glory Honor Flights, She has a Father who wouldn't be a good fit for such a trip. “I do have a Father that was also in Vietnam, and this trip is not for him,” she says, “But for some people, they are in a different emotional place and this trip really means a lot and maybe it's going to bring them a lot of closure.”
Tough Call
Why does Reno think a journey like this is a tough call for some to make? “They saw things and had to be a part of some really
awful
stuff that most of us just can't even fathom. And I think it's hard for people who haven't been a part of it to judge somebody whether or not this trip is right for one person versus another person,” she told WTAQ's Robert Kennedy. “I think it's just a personal choice and some people heal and go through emotions different
than
others,” she said.
Reno is looking forward to the group's return in two weeks, “Hopefully,
it brings these guys some closure and they can move forward with the rest of their lives seeing a country in a different place
than
what they remember it as.”
Reno's Father-in-Law, Burt Parkman – Photo Courtesy of
Jackson & Co.
Screening Process
Old Glory Honor Flight received 500 applications from local veterans interested in the return to Vietnam. Just over 50 could be on the trip which has proved to be both emotionally and physically taxing. Drew MacDonald describes the process of aligning a group that was best fit for the journey.
