In 1981, the USS John Young spotted a motorless fishing boat filled with people in the South China Sea—and saved their lives. They were without food, without water. That rescue was the first of hundreds for the Navy ship that year. Veterans carried those memories for decades, and recently, a group of those Vietnamese refugees, now US citizens, joined the veterans at a reunion in Mobile, Alabama.

One retired sailor, Chip Reichert, had a gasp of recognition when a girl they'd rescued, Thao Nguyen, now an adult, walked to the podium.

“I want to say thank you,” she told the veterans. “You all made a difference, and what you did mattered.”

Great story. How wonderful to know that you made a real difference in someone’s life.

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Where is there dignity unless there is also honesty? - Cicero

I work with a Vietnamese woman who, along with her family, escaped Vietnam when she was a small child. We were on a business trip together last year and were at lunch at a place that didn't have much seating, and we asked to sit at a large round table that was occupied by a couple of older men and their wives. The men were both wearing hats and shirts that indicated that they were Vietnam vets.

The entire lunch was spent trading stories, and at the end of the lunch, my friend asked the two wives if it was ok if she could hug each of the men and thank them for their service. Both men had tears in their eyes... I don't think either had been personally thanked by someone whose life they had a part in saving.