Commander Schmidt part of Vietnam veterans honored by Red Sox Nation

It’s fitting that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees game on July 15 required extra innings.

One could call it a metaphor for the pre-game salute in which many of the 1,400 Vietnam War veterans in attendance said they were finally given the welcome home that they didn’t receive when they returned a half century ago.

American Legion National Commander Charles E. Schmidt, who served with the 619th Tactical Control Squadron at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, was one of them.

“It was a tremendous feeling to walk on that field with my brothers and sisters and receive a ‘welcome home’ from 37,000-plus cheering Americans at Fenway Park,” he said. “The welcome exceeded anything that I and most of those on the field ever received when we returned home. I hope it brought some closure and comfort to those who are still feeling the effects of that war. The Red Sox Foundation and Home Base (program) deserve a lot of credit.”

Although the Yankees ultimately prevailed, the game seemed anti-climactic following a day which began with 5k and 9k runs to raise money for Home Base, a collaborative program between the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital which works to heal the invisible wounds of war that many servicemembers experience when they return home. Since its inception, Home Base has served more than 11,000 veterans and family members with care for post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, substance abuse, depression and military sexual trauma.

“Although we can’t undo the past, we sure as hell can do something about the future,” Home Base executive and retired Army Brig. Gen. Jack Hammond said during the run’s opening ceremony. Hammond announced that Home Base was expanding its services from post-9/11 veterans to also include those who served during the Vietnam War.

One prominent Legionnaire welcomed the decision. “I am so thrilled to be here and have to thank both the Red Sox and Home Base,” Past National Commander John P. “Jake” Comer said. “The Red Sox deserve credit not just for today, but for the way they honor veterans every day.”

Joseph Leone, a platoon leader during the Vietnam War and a memer of American Legion Post 18 in Andover, Mass., said, “It makes us feel that somebody has sensitivity as to how we were treated when we first came home. I was called names, and it bothers me not just for our living veterans but those who were killed overseas. As a soldier, you don’t question your orders. Our cause was just.”

During a luncheon prior to the game, retired Gen. Fred Franks ranked the service of Vietnam veterans with that of other wars. “There wasn’t a day when I was commanding VII Corps during Desert Storm that I didn’t think of Vietnam and your faithful service and sacrifice,” he told the large gathering of Vietnam veterans, all clad in green commemorative T-shirts. “Your service is equal to that of any period from 1776 to today.”

Dignitaries at the salute and the pre-race ceremonies included Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, D-Mass.

“We try to say ‘thank you’ knowing for me that those words will never be enough,” Kennedy said.

As for the Yankees and Red Sox game, the 16-inning affair was the longest between the two teams at Fenway Park since, well, since the height of the Vietnam War.