ORLANDO | Veterans Gary Herring, U.S. Marines, and Bob Wilson, U.S. Army, never met while serving their country during the Vietnam War, but faith brought them together some 20 years ago at St. James Cathedral.

Recently, the friends shared a Central Florida Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., to be honored for their service and take stock of their memories, good and bad.

Army Staff Sgt. Bob Wilson
Served 1971-1979

Wilson was an anti-war protester in 1971, when he was drafted. He had planned to serve his two years and then go back to teaching art, but along the way he fell in love with the commitment of his peers to love of country and the fight for something greater than oneself.

“When you start meeting these people, especially the ones in for a long period, you know they’re making a sacrifice,” Wilson said. “When you get to know them, you realize it’s not the government. Their love of country was beautiful. We didn’t see race. All we saw was green (meaning military service). We had each other’s back. It was a family.”

His first assignment was to the 8th Army AG in personnel in South Korea. Raised Methodist, he always had faith in his Christian beliefs.

One of his most cherished memories is helping a Christian chaplain with Easter services in Seoul.

“It’s something you don’t forget,” he said.

Also memorable were the many funerals where he served as part of the Honor Guard Team that helped bury retired soldiers.

With fond memories of his time in the service, when his turn to go on the Honor Flight came, he was eager to go. Wilson said his visits to the World War II and Korean War memorials were emotional because his father fought in both wars. He thought about everybody who died and everyone who served.

“I thought about how blessed I was,” he said. “Everybody served, whether a short time or lifers – we’re all family. There were tears.”

From the Changing of the Guard Two friends take flight, and remember Vietnam at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to getting a young volunteer to get etchings off The Wall (Vietnam Memorial) of the names of his two best friends in high school, the trip was powerful and exposed deep feelings of love and loss.

“The whole time it’s your faith (that gets you through),” he said of the trip, during which he carried his rosary with him, in case he needed it, noting he had strength with him.

Wilson became Catholic after he married his wife, Carmen.

“I wish I had become a Catholic earlier. I love the Church,” he said. “Life takes you in different directions, but then you come home.”

On Veteran’s Day, he will participate in the celebration of Mass at St. James, then pull out his folding chair and sit along Orange Avenue to watch the parade, proud to have served.

Marine Sgt. Gary Herring
Served 1968-1972

It was Wilson who called Herring to join the Honor Flight. Herring reluctantly agreed, because he wasn’t sure he wanted to travel down memory lane. Some of those memories took years to forget after returning from Vietnam.

Herring recalled enlisting in the Marines with a friend who didn’t want to join alone. Preferring the chance to choose his service, rather than be drafted, Herring agreed.

After all, his dad served in the Navy and later in the Army Air Corps and Air Force. Herring felt the call of duty.

A young Catholic, Herring left for Vietnam at 18, naïve about what lied ahead. The whole time in Vietnam, he never saw a priest or received Sacraments. In fact, he was very rarely near a chaplain. As a radio operator he went out with line companies — 5th Marines, 2nd Battalion. He was in the field all the time. All he had were the prayers he memorized, and amidst all the chaos, his faith waned.

“You’ve got the physical world and the spiritual world,” he explained. “A lot of times the physical world takes up a lot of your energy and the spiritual world diminishes, but only in your sight.”

He often wrote to his mother and shared all that was happening. Then his older brother visited him for a few days while he was stationed at An Hoa Combat Base in Vietnam. His brother served in the Army and scolded his younger brother after discovering he was sharing details of the war in correspondence with their mother. So, Herring quit writing.

“They didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t know about their problems until I got back and got older,” Herring said. “I learned from my sister, mom would go into her room at night, and pray, and cry. And I think that’s what got me through. I just didn’t know it at the time.”

A few years after his return, Herring met his wife, Sherry, whom he married in 1976. She is Protestant. Confused over the changes brought on by Vatican II, he attended services at her church for many years.

The loss of his family cat, and a year later his father, caused him to reflect deeply on the Our Father prayer.

“If you think about every word and what it means, you’ll see it’s the hardest prayer to live by. That’s where forgiveness comes into play. Then there’s the part about death,” he said.

He realized there was something missing in his life — his Catholic faith and the Sacraments. So, he returned to St. James, where he had been baptized and had his marriage convalidated. He found refuge in the rosary, which served him well as his group prepared to visit the Vietnam Memorial.

Unable to approach more than 100 yards because the memories were too painful, he prayed, bringing forth the spiritual realities in which he found peace.

“As you pray, He gives you peace. He gives you forgiveness,” Herring said. “And you pass that peace and forgiveness to as many other people as you can.”

Although he is proud of his service, he does not like looking back. “After four years, I did my duty. I did not shirk my duty. I did not embarrass my family’s name. I did not cause any dishonor to my father. So as time has gone by, I’ve even forgiven myself for some of the things I had to do,” he said. “I have no ill feelings toward the Vietnamese. I hope they forgive me for what I did to them, and I forgive them for what they did to me. God said to forgive. I have forgotten. I have forgiven. I am looking forward, not back.”

He concluded, “I am a Vietnam Veteran. I’m a Marine. I’m proud that I served my country. But I don’t want to glorify it. I don’t want to remember it. I do want to remember the people that died. And I remember them as young men.”

Upon arriving at the airport, Wilson and Herring were greeted by a crowd welcoming them home with cheers of appreciation. Both were grateful for the welcome they had never received.

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, November 07, 2024