‘It Scares Me,’ Vet Says as Son Goes to Mideast

The idea of fighting a prolonged war on foreign soil has been on former Army Ranger Larry Hughes’ mind lately.

But not just because his position as commander of Brothers of Vietnam includes organizing a massive annual reunion of Vietnam veterans.

Hughes, 42, of Fullerton is also thinking about his 19-year-old son, Larry Hughes Jr., who has recently left for Saudi Arabia with the 82nd Airborne Rangers based in Fort Bragg, N.C.

“It scares me, and it makes me sad because my son’s doing the same thing I was. He’s a LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol),” Hughes said. “And the kid’s as crazy as me. He’s a good soldier.”

Although Hughes and many of his fellow veterans had upsetting experiences in Vietnam and after they returned home, his son joined the Army about two years ago and is now a sergeant.

“He’s been around military guys most of his childhood, and he’s always been around the Brothers of Vietnam,” said Hughes, who was in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. “He knew which outfit to pick. He didn’t want to be just a plain old infantryman. He wanted to be part of the elite.”

Hughes said he is proud of his son but concerned.

“I know he can handle the soldiering, but the chemical warfare and all. . . . I just don’t want them to have their hands tied. This time I hope they let the generals and the officers run the war and not the politicians and the moneymakers. Let the servicemen go in there and do their job.”

Similarities between events in the Middle East and those leading up to the Vietnam war make some of the veterans nervous.

“The buildup right now is kind of scary because it parallels a lot the way Vietnam started,” said Cypress resident Ed Ramsey, 47, who was wounded three times and lost an eye in Vietnam. “If there is a war, I want the country to declare a war and let the military leaders do what they’re supposed to do.”

Brothers of Vietnam is adopting the 82nd Airborne and plans to send care packages to the men in Saudi Arabia.

And they say they will welcome the soldiers home.

“The only thing I have to say is when they come home, this nation better not turn their backs on them the way they did to us,” Hughes said.