Overdue thank you

Dennis Miller stood next to the wall that bore the names of the 58,318 Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.Moments before, the Fredericksburg man found the name of one of his Waterloo West High School classmates — Samuel Walthour Jr. — and he talked about the emotions he was feeling.“It’s a long time ago, geez almost 50 years now, but I remember finding out like it was just yesterday,” he said. “Just seeing his name today, it was hard. You see the 58,300 names up there and realize you know some of those guys. It still hurts.”As he talked, a schoolteacher from Kentucky came up to him, held out her hand and smiled.“Sir, thank you for your service,” she said. “There’s a lot of us out here who appreciated what you did for us.”And that was Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, for more than 100 Northeast Iowa veterans — most of whom are classified as Vietnam War-era veterans. 
For the full article and photos from the honr flight, see Friday's Tribune