HEROES AMONG US: Vietnam-era veterans reflect on service during Honor Flight

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - For many Vietnam-era veterans, returning home from military service wasn’t met with the gratitude or recognition they deserved. Decades later, a journey to the nation’s capital offered a different kind of homecoming.During Southwest Florida Honor Flight’s Mission XXV, veterans traveled to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials honoring their service and remember those who never made it home.For U.S. Navy veteran Joe Angers, who served from 1968 to 1972, the visit brought back memories of a time when wearing his military uniform wasn’t always safe.“When I was in the service it was Vietnam, so this one hits close to home,” Angers said.“They wouldn’t even let us travel in our uniform because we’d get abused it was so unpopular,” he recalled.More than five decades later, standing at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial remained an emotional experience.“I’ve been to it before, 40 years ago and still kind of chokes me up,” Angers said.Although Angers did not see combat, he