Vietnam Vets Reflect on Obama Cabinet Picks

January 30, 2013

For the first time in U.S. history, two Vietnam veterans might be running key government departments. Congress has just confirmed Senator John Kerry as secretary of state, and on Thursday, confirmation hearings start for former Senator Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of defense.

Larry Varr stands at the Vietnam War Memorial and reflects on the comrades he left behind. “See, there’s two of my friends on that wall right there,” he said.

Those names are just a few among the thousands of the fallen at the Vietnam War Memorial. Varr spent a year in Vietnam as an Air Force sergeant and then as a prisoner of war. That same year, Hagel was an infantry squad leader. Kerry was a Navy lieutenant who later became an outspoken opponent of the war.

Battle-tested

Some vets now view Vietnam as an unnecessary war. Varr said the Vietnam experience may affect Kerry and Hagel.

“It was the biggest life-learning lesson there was, as things can go... if you do things right or how things can go if you don’t do them right,” he said.

“I was in school in North Carolina when dad was over there,” said David Kroepsch, who along with his family are visiting the war memorial before burying his father at Arlington National Cemetery.

His father served a year in Vietnam. David, also a veteran, spoke about Kerry and Hagel.