New recognition given to Hamilton's vets
Even 40 years later, the memories of incoming mortar attacks have left Bobby Beaulier with a pronounced startle reflex.
"The least little thing, and I go through the ceiling," said Beaulier, who grew up in Essex and served in Vietnam's Mekong Delta with the Army from November 1966 to November 1967.
Several times during the conversation, recalling something from his past, the 61-year-old Vietnam War veteran will stop a story and ask to change the subject. He said there are some days when "I'm stuck in this thing where I still feel 18, and running for the bunker when the mortars come in."
A former professional musician and commercial clammer, he is now on disability with an injured disk in his back.
His back has been hurting since he pedaled his bike from his Wenham apartment to the Hamilton Town Hall last month for the dedication of Phase 2 of the Veterans Honor Roll, which lists names of the town's Korean and Vietnam War veterans - those who died and those who survived.
The name of every soldier who entered the armed forces from Hamilton during those wars is included on one side of the handsome stone monument. On the other side are the names of those who served in World War II.
It is fitting that the Korean and Vietnam veterans are on the opposite side, because their homecomings were so different from those of the World War II heroes, as were their respective experiences.
Korea, often called "the forgotten war," followed a larger war where there was more participation on the home front, said Ed Haraden, 80, a Hamilton resident who served in the Navy during the end of World War II and was recalled for the Korean War.
"During World War II, they had gasoline rationing, and blackout curtains, and victory gardens," Haraden said. "Everybody made sacrifices for the guys in the service. During Korea, everybody went about their daily business. It was different."
The welcome for Korean veterans was not like the celebrations that followed World War II. Though they were treated with respect, Haraden recalled, "I just came back and went right to work."
Veterans from Vietnam, the first televised war, came back to epithets and spitting from peace protesters.
Terry Hart, veterans' agent for seven local towns, said most Vietnam veterans returned to bases in California, where "they had to run a gantlet" through protesters.
"World War II guys came home proud to wear the uniform," Hart said. "This was just the opposite. They were told to take it off."
While there is a stereotypical "troubled Vietnam veteran," most don't fit that profile, Hart said.
"What they did was got married, had children, started businesses, and completely ignored their service," Hart said. "If you asked if they served, they'd say no. Some of them were downright heroes. They just would not say anything about it."
Over time, Hart has seen a change in attitude. He says there is "a greater appreciation for the fact that the soldier, the sailor, the airman is not there because they want to be there; they're there because their country asked them to." As a result, Hart said, some veterans are reclaiming their history.
Most Korean and Vietnam war vets now range in age from their mid-50s to 80s. If it wasn't for the uniforms worn by some who attended the Hamilton event, it would have resembled any other small-town gathering of friends and neighbors.
With his long hair, beard, mirrored sunglasses, and Vietnam baseball cap, Beaulier stood apart. As one person noted, "He's the guy who looks like a Vietnam vet."
Beaulier has lived mostly in Essex and Ipswich. He is friendly with Herbert and Betty Cheeseman of Wenham, whose son, Alan, was killed in Vietnam and is remembered by his town with a baseball field named in his memory.
Beaulier has no close friends on the Hamilton honor roll. He attended the ceremony because, he said: "I wanted to respect my brothers."
He said he has mixed feelings about the war in which he served: pride in his service but discomfort with the politics that surrounded it.
The black Vietnam baseball cap was a birthday gift from his late son, Richard, who was named for an uncle who died in the Korean War. Beaulier didn't want to talk about the loss of his son. He began wearing the cap in the past few years, and has been surprised by the response of strangers.
"Ten or 12 different people have come up, with tears in their eyes, and said 'Thank you,' " he said. "It's moving for me. I'm not used to it.
"I don't wear it for ego; I wear it for them - my fallen friends." 