‘Extremely proud’: Sun City Vietnam vet reflects on service

By Zev Black
Mail

At 17, Roger Langley didn’t know how the Marine Corps would shape the rest of his life. A year later, he found himself in Vietnam.

He said he didn’t think about his time in Vietnam for close to 30 years after he got back to the states.

“When my life slowed down, my family was raised, then I went into the American Legion, reconnected with people my age whose lives were slowing down,” he said. “You find out, once your life starts slowing down, you’re extremely proud of what you did. You didn’t think about it before because your life was so busy.”

Langley, along with other veterans, will soon be going on an Honor Flight trip sponsored by the Elks Lodge.

“I’m extremely proud to represent the U.S. on this,” Langley said. “America is so good to us. It’s the only country like this where people are free to speak freely, to move freely, without fear of a police state or anything. That’s what America means to me.”

He added that it’s been 20 years since he saw all of the memorials in the nation’s capital, but he’s excited for it.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the changing of the guard at Arlington,” he said. “Just being with other people who have gone and had the same experiences I had.”

He said many people go on this trip for healing. While he thinks his wife disagrees, Langley believes he doesn’t need to be healed.

“I don’t remember any bad times I had when I was in country,” he said. “I did a lot of patrols. I was out in the bush. But I don’t remember any really bad times. I remember the attacks. I remember the ambushes, but I don’t have any bad memories.”

After the war, he became a scoutmaster. He had two children in Boy Scouts, both of whom eventually went into service — one in the Air Force and the other in the Navy.

His son who was in the Navy is accompanying him on the Honor Flight trip.

“He knows about the memorials, what they stand for, for the fighting men and women of the nation,” Langley said. “This gives him a different perspective of the memorials, by seeing some of the old guys.”

For Langley, the trip is about more than just seeing memorials. It’s about sharing a piece of his life with his son and the men and women who lived it alongside him.

Reporter Zev Black can be reached at zblack@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.