Petty Officer Donn Nemchick, Naval Communications Station, Guam, 1971. (Donn Nemchick)
by Donn Nemchick
I completed my U.S. Navy enlistment on board the attack aircraft carrier USS Constellation.
After completing our final deployment in the Tonkin Gulf off the coast of North Vietnam, we were finally under way and headed to our home port of San Diego in October 1973.
I had only nine months service remaining on my 4 year enlistment so I was excited to return to the USA to decompress from a demanding period of being deployed and at sea.
It is a long-held tradition to have a joyous home coming for ships returning to port.
Many of my Communication Division ship mates had family or friends meeting them on the pier however my buddy Mark Prince and I did not have to meet up with anyone. We offered to stay on board to secure communications equipment and classified communication publications allowing our shipmates to go on well-deserved Liberty. Our offer was well received. It was heartwarming to see our buddies with big smiles and we felt their excitement of returning to America after a long deployment.
After our team exited the ship and everything classified was properly secured, my buddy and I headed out to downtown San Diego to enjoy our return to the USA. We stopped at a fast food place known as Jack in the Box, just sitting in the park with cheeseburgers and enjoying being in America again. We later chose to see the coming of age comedy drama movie American Graffiti. Suffice to say we were in a good spirits and it did not take much for us to feel back home in the USA.
In June of 1974 the ship was to deploy again for a training cruise to the Western Pacific. Two days before getting under way my Division Chief came to me and said ” Nemchick, get your gear, and check out because you are granted a 3 month early discharge for the convenience of the Navy. You served a lot of time overseas and you would just end up getting discharged in Hawaii any way. So, good luck and may the wind aways be at your back.”
So there I was, sea bag on my shoulder, going to the quarter deck in dress blues, saluting the colors for the last time as a sailor. I was headed home to McKeesport, PA.
Arriving home in June of 1974, about 3 months earlier than my original discharge date of September 1974, was a thrill for me and a surprise for my family and friends. My return to the neighborhood was celebrated like New Year’s Eve in June.
My home coming was different than most returning Vietnam vetearns who went through Travis AFB in San Francisco or Tacoma Airport in Seattle. The antiwar protests at those airports were going full strength and many veterans were faced with indifference, hostility or even unjust blame for the war. I came home through San Diego, a Navy/Marine Corps town, returning to a hard scrabble blue collar city near Pittsburgh therefore a man in uniform was not scorned but celebrated.
The antiwar demonstrators and those who blamed the veteran for what went wrong in Vietnam were not a large part of Southwestern PA. Our dads and relatives were WW2 veterans, most were tough steel workers who believed in patriotism. Many of my peers were also Vietnam veterans so we had a commonality therefore I was able to openly share thoughts and concerns about adjusting to civilian life without being embarrassed for my service.
On the first weekend home my friends threw a surprise welcome home bash at the VFW and I felt very proud to have been a sailor who did his duty as did so many that came before me. To this day, Vietnam veterans from McKeesport are celebrated and remembered on Veterans Day and Memorial Day with programs and festivities at the High School, VFW and American Legion.
For the aforementioned reasons my transition back to civilian life was smoother than for many Vietnam veterans. I will continue to acknowledge the sacrifices of Vietnam veterans and readily offer the “Welcome Home” greeting that too many were denied upon their return.
