Bush in Texas to Hail Veterans of Vietnam War : Military: He calls them ‘the Lone Star heroes of America’s longest war’ at a memorial dedication.

With five crisp tablets of Texas granite carved with 3,406 names behind him, and a crowd of veterans in front, an emotional President Bush dedicated the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Saturday, a monument to “the Lone Star heroes of America’s longest war.”

In a speech that reflected on the divisions the war brought to American society, Bush told a crowd of several thousand at the state fairgrounds near the Cotton Bowl that “unlike other veterans, the brave boys who went to Vietnam had to endure two wars.

“The first war was the battle waged in swamps and jungles abroad,” Bush said. “The second was fought for respect and recognition at home. With the passage of time, they have won the battle for the hearts of their countrymen. And in my view, it’s about time.

“They were black and white, red and brown--almost a quarter of the names on this memorial are Hispanic,” Bush said, his voice catching with emotion. “They were native-born and foreign-born, the privileged and the poor. But most of all, they were Americans.”

Bush and his wife, Barbara, stood at attention as four Air Force F-4 Phantom jets flew by in the “missing man” formation, with the aircraft on the left peeling off in a graceful arc as the fighters thundered over the memorial.

The aircraft were followed by other aerial workhorses of the Vietnam War, including a B-52 bomber and four Huey helicopters.

The memorial honors the 3,244 Texans killed in action in Vietnam and the 162 Texans listed as missing in action.