By Buck Cole

In the spring of 1975 I was a 21-year-old airman stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. Saigon was falling, and we were evacuating Vietnam. The flight line was full of aircraft, and base personnel were setting up the tents that would serve as temporary shelter for the refugees.

I watched these unfortunate people fill up the base. I don’t know how many arrived, but I do know many were women and children. 

One afternoon during the evacuation the airmen in our barracks were asked to assemble in the day room for a short meeting. The senior noncommissioned officer told us that unless other arrangements could be made, there was a good chance we would be asked to give up our barracks rooms to accommodate the influx of displaced Vietnamese. He asked for a show of hands from those who would volunteer their rooms.

Just a few hands went up. To this day I wish I knew who these men were so that I could tell them how much I appreciated their decency, which in this context amounted to courage.  

Because I wasn’t among them. I kept my hands in my pockets, knowing full well that my conscience was dictating otherwise. I didn’t want to upset my circle of friends who I knew wouldn’t be happy giving their rooms to these desperate people. (By the way, that day never came; the refugee flights were diverted to other bases in the Pacific.)

We left the day room and went about our business without much afterthought. But those seemingly insignificant moments in a barracks day room in 1975 have had a profound effect on me to this day.

Recent events in the Middle East and the resulting misery of thousands of innocent people bought home this memory. I can no longer keep my hands in my pockets. The dignity and worth of human life should inspire us all of us to raise our hands high as a nation. It’s what we veterans served for and what we Americans should stand for, in or out of uniform.

Being a member of Veterans for American Ideals has given me the opportunity to stand for American decency, and a second chance to raise my hand.

Buck Cole is a U.S. Air Force veteran and retired school teacher. He lives in Austin, TX. He recently spoke on behalf of Veterans for American Ideals at an interfaith vigil for refugees; you can watch his remarks here.