Posted on 12/08/2016 3:45:03 PM PST by nickcarraway
The family of a Vietnam veteran says they are upset after they feel their loved one is being disrespected.
The Vietnam War was controversial, and a lot of the soldiers were met with disgust when they returned to American soil.
David Ryan was one of those veterans.
Ryan’s daughter says when he returned back to the United States, a man called him a murderer and a ‘baby killer.’
Those words stuck with her father for the rest of his life.
In his obituary, Ryan wanted to clear the air and put to rest those hurtful words from decades ago.
However, family members say the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette refused to publish Ryan’s obituary as it was written.
Heather Vargo, Ryan’s daughter, told WTAE that the paper refused to print a line that read “not a murderer, not a baby killer, just a Vietnam Vet.”
She says they still have not received an explanation and are upset that one of his last wishes is being left out of the post.
Even though they paid $400 to the newspaper, the family decided to have the obituary published into another paper to make sure it was exactly what he wanted.
Those words stuck with her father for the rest of his life.
RIP David Ryan. God knows the truth.
They lost a loved one, and a veteran, and the paper will not honor the family, or the vet.
Many people today have become just sick in the head, who put their politics before grieving parents.
Perfect example; take the families who lost loved ones in CA from illegals, and how the left will not honor them
Not to worry. Just another dinosaur ready to be buried.
Always some piece of crap that floats to the top of a cistern and this piece of crap lives in Philly and manages a POS paper.
Couldn’t they take the obit to another newspaper for printing? It may be better off to have it posted online anyway. I almost never buy newspapers anymore.
It has been years since I bought a newspaper.
Rest in peace, brother...
We Vietnam vets know the truth....
I think it's possible that the line could be read to imply that some/many WERE murderers or baby killers but he was not one of them. I don't know if that potential to inflame and insult other vietnam vets (unintentionally) was why the paper refused to run it but if so, they should allow for it to be rephrased.
The last part covers that, Just a Viet Nam Vet, none of us were Killers it was a stinkin WAR.
The Pinky Post-Gazette strikes again. I can’t wait for the day that POS newspaper finally dies.
“I think it’s possible that the line could be read to imply...”
I think it’s possible you’re thinking too hard.
God bless him and keep him. We know exactly what he went through because it happened to all of us.
I met a man who served in a Marine rifle company in Vietnam and after he was wounded and evacuated home, he received orders to go back once he recuperated. He decided to just leave and go to the wilds of Wisconsin, change his name and disappear. Decades later he was stopped for speeding and when his identity was found out, the Marine Corps gave him a choice: face a court-martial or just serve the rest of the time he had left on his enlisted contract.
When I met him, he was a 60 year old lance corporal, serving as an MP at Quantico. I asked him why he left back then and he said “I knew my country didn’t love me anymore”.
He summed it up.
Despite all that, nothing is more enjoyable than meeting up with the all of the guys who served with us back then. Best guys in the world.
RIP.
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