“Welcome Home”
For many Vietnam veterans, those two words did not come in 1973.
In 1985, Vietnam Veteran Len Erickson, USMC, found himself sleepless at his hotel in Washington, DC. He pulled on his Marine Corps sweatshirt and walked into the chilled early hour as the dawning light broke through the darkened sky. Len’s feet led him to the Vietnam Wall where he was face to face with the thousands of names of soldiers that would never stand next to him.
Not many people were around on this quiet morning, except for another gentleman standing nearby. Len noticed he, too, was wearing a Marine Corps sweatshirt. The stranger looked at Len in earnest, stuck his hand out, and with a firm grip said, “Welcome home, Marine,” before continuing down the wall.
For a long moment, he couldn’t find the words. He couldn’t find a thought. He replayed those words in his head as he stared down at the hand that was still warm from the embrace. “Welcome home, Marine.” Why did this feel so strange?
Then Len’s eyes widened with awareness. It was 1985.
Fifteen years since he left Vietnam.
And that was the first time anybody had said welcome home to him.
Fifteen years.
For many Vietnam veterans, the wounds were not only physical, but they carried mental trauma of moral injury, isolation, and the quiet ache of feeling unseen. “We were there (in Vietnam) for a purpose, and I don’t think people understood that in the States.”
And he knew he was not alone. “So many veterans out there who haven’t been welcomed home.”
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On March 29, we observe National Vietnam War Veteran’s Day, honoring the nearly nine million men and women who served during the Vietnam War era. We also remember the more than 58,000 individuals whose names the black granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial displays.
A day that carries a deeper purpose for our Vietnam veterans. It exists to offer something many Vietnam veterans never received when they first stepped back onto American soil:
A proper welcome home.
“I went through a lot of trauma in the war, but the biggest trauma was coming home.” Len admits. “When I came home, I threw away all my uniforms because nobody wanted to know about it. I was shocked to find a country of indifference.”
“Welcome Home.”
For Len, those words changed something. Not the past. Not the memories. But the feeling of being seen. “It just made a big difference to me.”
It’s been 53 years since the end of the Vietnam War.
On March 29 this year, we have the opportunity to make sure no Vietnam veteran is left unwelcomed or unseen.
If you know a Vietnam veteran, take a moment. Look them in the eye. Thank them for their service. And say the words that still matter.
Welcome home.
More about Len Erickson, USMC
Len was born and raised in Northern Minnesota. After graduating from high school, he left to go to college in Colorado. Immediately after college in 1966, Len joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in Quantico, Virginia; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida; and then Viet Nam. Len served with First Battalion Seventh Marines approximately 25 miles southwest of Danang. He arrived in Viet Nam during the Tet offensive of 1968, and left during the Tet Offensive of 1969.
In 1970, Len and his wife Bonnie married, and over the course of ten years, had three wonderful daughters. He owned a consulting firm that specialized in organizational development for over 20 years, and finished his career as an HVAC distributor.
Len is retired, and looks forward to golfing and spending many years with Bonnie, his wife of near nearly 53 years.
During REUNION, Len Erickson worked with one of our nonprofit partners, Creativets, in Nashville, TN, where professional songwriters turned his story into a song, which was later produced and performed by Scotty Hastings.
Hear Len’s song “Welcome Home”
Hear Len tell his story: On Fox News on Veteran’s Day 2025
