President Calls Viet Veterans ‘Gentle Heroes’

President Reagan, in a tender but tough tribute to Vietnam veterans, Friday hailed their “uncommon courage” in the long struggle and asserted that “young Americans must never again be sent to fight and die unless we are prepared to let them win.”

Reagan, speaking on a brisk, cloudy day at the Vietnam War Memorial during a Veterans Day ceremony, portrayed the nation as once divided over the war but now healed. As his eight years come to a close, Reagan said, he is able to see Vietnam veterans “take their rightful place among America’s heroes.”

“Welcome home,” he said as hundreds of people applauded, many of them veterans who wore parts of their old uniforms.

‘Morning Has Come’

Reagan, noting that home had not always welcomed Vietnam veterans, portrayed them as “gentle heroes” who stood in a metaphorical “chill wind, as if on a winter night’s watch.” At last, the chill is gone, Reagan said, “and now morning has come.”

Citing a debt to the veterans that can never be repaid, Reagan, his voice softening, said that “not just as individuals, but as a nation, we say we love you.”

At one point, saying that he was “not speaking provocatively here,” the President acknowledged the “deep divisions” that wracked the nation during the war, adding that “both sides spoke with honesty and fervor.”

But pointing to the aftermath of the war--mass killings in Cambodia and a decade of boat people fleeing Southeast Asia--Reagan asked: “Who can doubt that the cause for which our men fought was just?”

He added: “It was, after all, however imperfectly pursued, the cause of freedom, and they showed uncommon courage in its service.”

Reagan then said that “at this late date we can all agree that we’ve learned one lesson: that young Americans must never again be sent to fight and die unless we are prepared to let them win.” That remark drew the loudest applause of the ceremony.

Despite the generally warm reception to Reagan’s remarks about a healed nation, it was clear that wounds persist. Many among the crowd wore anti-Jane Fonda buttons and black T-shirts calling attention to the estimated 1,700 Americans who are missing in action or prisoners of war. The memorial flagpole flew a black POW-MIA flag under the U.S. flag.

Tells of U.S. Efforts

Shouts of “free American POWs” and “no more lies” punctuated Reagan’s speech. He tried to address these deep concerns, citing the establishment of the new Cabinet post, the Veterans Affairs Department, negotiations with the North Vietnamese and joint teams that are searching Indochina for clues to missing Americans.

Of the presumed missing, Reagan said: “We will do everything we can to find them.”

For many, however, the promise rang empty.

Joe Gordon, a former Army captain from Ft. Washington, Pa., wore a frown and a button reading: “I will forgive Jane Fonda when the Jews forgive Hitler.” Said Gordon: “I’d like for him to do more, like get a full accounting of the MIAs from the Vietnamese.”

Terri Cavo of Washington, whose silver MIA bracelet bore the name of Larry J. Hanley, a friend missing since Nov. 4, 1969, said: “I don’t believe diplomatic channels are the way to go. We’ve only gotten bones back.”

What should be done? “I don’t have an answer,” she said. “I wish I did.”

Many others feel as helpless. They visit the Vietnam War Memorial’s black wall of names by the thousands, leaving behind flowers, articles of clothing, notes.

After his speech, Reagan--who, with his wife, Nancy, earlier laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery--walked 100 yards with her to the wall, holding hands.

They, too, left a note:

“Our young friends--yes, young friends, for in our hearts you will always be young, full of the love that is youth, love of life, love of joy, love of country. You fought for your country and for its safety and for the freedom of others with strength and courage. We love you for it. We honor you. And we have faith that, as he does all his sacred children, the Lord will bless you and keep you, the Lord will make his face to shine upon you and give you peace, now and forever more.”

At the wall, Nancy Reagan briefly touched the surface bearing 58,156 names as her husband looked on.

From the crowd came a plaintive cry in a woman’s voice: “Mr. President, when will you bring my father home?”

Southland remembers veterans. Metro, Page 1.