A crowd came out to Freedom Hill on Coates Avenue in Bristol Township’s Edgely section Saturday night to commemorate the annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans celebration.
The celebration holds deeper meaning this year. The celebration is marking the 10th anniversary of the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans (DVVV) having Freedom Hill on Coates Avenue to call their home and marks the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.
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“When these guys came back from Vietnam, they didn’t get parades like the guys who come home now do. They were spit on,” explained David Pearl, retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant and an administrative representative for the association. “Even though we couldn’t make it 50 years ago, we try to be there for them now.”
The Freedom Hill piece of the celebration is huge for Pearl and DVVV as a whole.
“We don’t only want to celebrate having a home, but also the people who helped us get there,” Pearl said.
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Before they had the Coates Avenue location, which used to be the William Penn School, veterans would be forced to meet in garages, basements and restaurants.
State Sen. Tommy Tomlinson came through with a grant to help renovate the building into what it has become, the veterans said.
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Ed Sabol is the treasurer of the association and a Vietnam War veteran. Sabol remembers being around before Freedom Hill and appreciates what it allows the group to do.
“It gives us not just a place to hold meetings, but also a place to expand our community efforts,” Sabol said.
Freedom Hill is host to a Veterans Day event and also most of the association’s work comes from helping other organizations.
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In addition to the association, local, state, and national officials were present Saturday. State Rep. Tina Davis, a representative from Tomlinson’s office and a representative from Sen. Pat Toomey’s office were all present.
Veterans received a pin commemorating the 50th anniversary of the war that claimed 58,220 American lives. One of the founding members of the association, Jessie Hill, was unable to be present to accept his pin, but it was accepted in his honor.
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The association also has a larger role of continuing the Vietnam War veterans’ fight to make sure all warriors returning home feel welcomed and appreciated.
“We need to be there and pick up where they left off so that their mission doesn’t end with them,” Pearl said.
