A Quad Cities Vietnam veteran spoke with Our Quad Cities Photojournalist Mike Colón about the importance of remembering veterans and their service.
Most Vietnam veterans don’t, won’t, or can’t, talk about their service in Vietnam, Capt. Bill Albracht said in a presentation at the Bettendorf Library.
“I’m very fortunate because once I wrote what became a book it was a cathartic experience,” Albracht said. “And this allows me to now enlighten others and tell them the story of the brave men I served with.”
“Last night I was talking to about 50 or 60 high-school students at St. John Vianney, the youth ministry. And they don’t know anything about Vietnam – not a clue,” Albracht said.
He said it’s important to keep alive the memory of the war and those who served. “To keep that alive, we have to honor our veterans and we have to let America know that it was very brave men who served with honor,” Albracht said. “You can see it. You know: Read the room. You can see it in their faces. I could see that I got through to them and they really understood the message.”
He was a little apprehensive at first, with “such an age difference But it turned out to be very good, a bunch of bright, attentive (students,)” Albracht said. “They’re going to be the leaders of tomorrow.”
Albracht discussed leadership with the students, along with what it means to be a leader, “and decision-making – critical decision making,” Albracht said. “We talked about all those things, as well as combat in Vietnam.”
There’s a quote that Albracht is fond of. “The night we had the breakout, went through enemy lines, and they were completely surrounded and we were all so, so very scared. But when we said our prayers, we got the courage.”
The quote is: “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
“Truer words couldn’t have been spoken,” Albracht said.
The Bettendorf Public Library’s Global Gathering Vietnam Series runs through next month.