OAK CREEK, Wis. — Oak Creek High School held a special event to give a warm welcome home to a group of their very own American heroes.
It all started out with a surprise welcome for 15 Oak Creek graduates who all shared something else in common. They're all Vietnam War veterans.
It was a sea of red, white and blue as current students and faculty saw the group of veterans arrive. Drew Braam, Oak Creek High School senior, said it was an honor that transcends through generations.
"We're all just going to represent and respect the things that they don't for us," Braam said. "Not only how they represented our school but how they represented our country."
Candis Mongan, Oak Creek High School Principal, said they pulled out all of the stops for the celebration and parade for the 10 Marines, 3 Army and 2 Navy veterans that graduated from Oak Creek between 1967 and 1973.
"They love seeing the upgrades to the building, being able to high fives stuffers, just memories galore," Mongan said.
Gary Wetzel, Medal of Honor recipient, was there to show his support just ahead of the Honor Flight set to take off Saturday morning.
"I was going to come down here and say hi, thank you," Wetzel said. "I'm the class of '66, they're the class of '72. God Bless you and then this, this was a surprise."
The honored veterans made their way through the school, marching to the beat of the marching band's drums, and say many memories came rushing in.
"Going through the veterans section there were guys that I grew up with and went to high school with that got killed in Vietnam. Well, that brought back memories," Wetzel said.
He said events like this are reminders to never let the memories of those lost be forgotten.
"We use that word freedom but it's a price that's being paid right now."
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