A sweet return home

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — Don Pettingill breaks down when describing the cheers he and other veterans received when they recently returned from visiting war memorials in Washington, D.C.

"The love everybody showed was unbelievable," the Vietnam vet said of the support after the return of an Honor Flight to Spokane International Airport. "There were hundreds of people waiting as we came down the walkway.

"It was just for the vets. We were welcomed home in the right way. It was a great thanks and love for what we did."

The ceremony included a high school band performance and participation from several community and military groups and veterans' families.

The atmosphere was in stark contrast to when Pettingill returned home from the war.

"When we came back into the airport, people yelled names at us," he said. "You just wanted to get out of there as fast as you could. A lot of us just got in taxis and got the heck out of there."

Today, Veterans Day, Pettingill said he feels blessed to have served his country well and escape the war without physical and mental injuries.

"I thank the good Lord that I'm safe and home," he said.

He said there's never a day he takes for granted. If circumstances had been just slightly different, he may not have been as fortunate.

Pettingill served with the Seabees "boots on the ground" in the Navy and was stationed at Da Nang. The Seabees supported troops and locals with roads, communications and other logistics.

Pettingill will never forget one day in particular.

"I was taking a load of supplies to a Seabee base on the other side of Da Nang Harbor and when I drove onto the base I was told, 'You got shot at,'" Pettingill said. "I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'There's a hole (in the cab) behind your head.' I said, 'Oh yeah — that was a pretty bad shot.'"

Pettingill, who served from 1965 to 1971, said he has good memories of working well with others in his materiel handling unit.

"It was work six days a week and one day off," he said.

Pettingill said unfortunately, he didn't stay in touch with his comrades in arms.

"By the time you're in for six years, everybody just went in different directions," he said.

Still, he often wonders about many of his fellow veterans. In some cases, he's still searching for answers.

Pettingill, who has lived in Post Falls almost 40 years, visited the Vietnam Memorial for the first time last month.

"It was quite moving," he said.

He was relieved to learn during his visit that the name of a high school and college friend of his wasn't on the wall.

"He must've made it home," Pettingill said. "I haven't seen him since he went into the Air Force and I went into the Navy."

Pettingill said he was out of much of the war zone in Vietnam and didn't come too close to the infamous herbicide Agent Orange because he served in the northern part of the country.

"Down in the Da Nang Valley you could see our guys dropping all kinds of (materials) up there in the mountains," he said.

Pettingill, who was a welder and heavy equipment operator before retiring, said he enjoys assisting fellow veterans in need through St. George's Catholic Church and Knights of Columbus.

"I'm blessed that I don't have any serious injuries so we take Christmas baskets to our disabled vets," he said. "We try to help each other out as much as we can."

Pettingill said he’s proud to have served during the war and helping veterans is a way to keep that patriotism alive.

"It's a time you never forget, even if it was a war," he said. "We did our jobs and continued on."