Cloverdale man brings veterans together

It took two years for Vietnam War veteran Gary Mills to save up for his first visit to The Wall, but now he calls it a life-changing experience.

Mills flew to Washington, D.C., in 2002, arriving in time to celebrate Memorial Day there.

“I experienced for the first time a genuine appreciation for all who have served our country,” he said. “Total strangers came up and handed me things like flowers, little flags and key chains. It was very emotional.”

Mills said he initially was overwhelmed and couldn’t bring himself to walk up to the memorial for the first three days.

“I’d start out, get partway there, turn around and go back,” he said. “It took me three days to get the courage to finally go up and touch it. I found my buddy’s name and left a memento for him. We had both served with the First Field Force, II Corps, 54th Signal Battalion in Nhatrang.”

On the flight back to San Francisco, the Cloverdale man decided he wanted to do something to help other vets make the pilgrimage, too.

His first step was organizing LZ Boonville, a group of Vietnam veterans whose goal was raising the money to help vets with post-traumatic stress disorder make the healing journey.

They began by sponsoring the 2003 All Veterans Reunion at the Boonville fairgrounds for all veterans, their families, friends and the general public. Despite three days of rain, the event attracted more than 1,100 people and raised enough money to send a Lakeport man to visit The Wall.

About three months later, Mills received a call from the man’s former wife, who phoned to express her gratitude. “She told me the experience had brought him back into their family,” said Mills, 68. “His daughter was crying when she got on the phone to thank me.”

The next year, Mills arranged for a Huey gunship from San Jose, and although the helicopter was kept busy giving rides to participants, the event was not as well attended. Many people cited the winding roads to Boonville and lack of hotel accommodations as major drawbacks, and the reunion was discontinued.

A fifth-generation Cloverdale resident, Mills graduated from high school in 1964 and went to work at MGM Brakes. He was drafted two years later and shipped out the Friday of Citrus Fair weekend in 1967. He came home one year later, also on the Friday of Citrus Fair weekend.

Knowing his friends would all be at the parade Saturday morning, he headed downtown to let them know he made it back safely. To his surprise, no one welcomed him home or asked how he was doing.

“People wouldn’t even make eye contact with me,” he said. “I just wanted them to shake hands and say something, but no one did. It was during a counseling session at the VA about five years ago that I finally understood. They didn’t say anything because they didn’t know how to talk to me.”

MGM saved his job for him while Mills was overseas, so he went back to work, got married, and his life returned to some semblance of normalcy. He now says he was in denial about his own PTSD until about 2008. “The VA has helped me so much. Counseling is absolutely the best thing.”

On Memorial Day 2014, Mills and his wife decided to open their home to all veterans. Last weekend, they repeated the open house for a second year, but on Armed Forces Day so that veterans would be free on Memorial Day to attend major celebrations.

Long tables in his driveway held Mills’ impressive collection of Vietnam-era books, as well as books and memorabilia from World War II’s Pacific and European theaters, the Korean War and more recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Memorials were set up to honor three fallen soldiers: SP4 Duane Roy Baumgardner and SP4 Stephen Lenn Weigt from Cloverdale, who were killed in Vietnam, and Navy SEAL Jesse Pittman from Willits, who was killed in Afghanistan.

Playing in the background was music from the Vietnam era and sounds of radio chatter from soldiers in the bush calling for air support. Live-action war footage played on a laptop.

Mills also displayed his “mule,” the well packed and fully loaded military vehicle he often drives in the Petaluma Veterans Day Parade, and a KISS Tribute Harley Davidson, which has been signed by Gene Simmons and other members of the band, and is owned by Vietnam vet Gary Greenough of Santa Rosa.

Greenough said KISS has donated thousands of dollars from concert proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project.

“They are the only band who regularly visits the wounded troops,” he said. “In that vein, the (Harley) was built to support the wounded warriors with donations collected at bike shows and events like this one.”

While this year’s turnout was less than expected, Mills says those who came to what he named LZ Foothill enjoyed the camaraderie and conversation.

“There is a magic that happens when fellow veterans come together and share their stories,” he said. “We seem to relax a little and trust our fellow vet brothers.”

Contact Cloverdale Towns Correspondent Mary Jo Winter at Cloverdale.Towns@gmail.com.