 52 NE Wisconsin Vietnam War veterans are getting the chance to do just what they signed up for. 



 The Old Glory Honor Flight offered them the opportunity to go back to Vietnam and see some of the places where they fought half a century ago. 



 For one of them....that meant taking a boat ride. 



 Green Bay Navy veteran Tom Sharp served in Vietnam in 1967 and 68.  



 He spent a lot of the time looking for the enemy and patrolling the maze of canals that make up the Mekong Delta. 



 On this trip, he took a ride up some of those familiar waterways. 



 "The boat would go up and down. We'd go searching and sometimes we would find them and sometimes we wouldn't" 



 Sharp says much of the time it was boring.... 



 "For me, in the boats, it was 45 minutes of boredom and then 15 minutes of pure hell." 



 The hell would begin when they would come across a nest of Viet Cong along the shore. 



 "All out firefight. A knockdown drag out fight on the river." 



 Sometimes, your head was on a swivel. 



 "The gunfire could come from any bank, or you could be hit from both banks at the same time." 



 Tom Sharp was eventually wounded and sent home. He also lost some good friends during those firefights. 



 The memory of them is just one of the reasons he wanted to return. 



 The Wisconsin veterans will go from Saigon to Da Nang to Hanoi before returning home. 



 The veterans return to Menasha High School from their Vietnam trip Saturday, March 9th. The public is invited to their welcome home celebration, with the doors opening at 5pm. 



 And you can follow the veteran's journey with daily updates, pictures, videos and more at the Return To Vietnam section at wtaq.com

52 NE Wisconsin Vietnam War veterans are getting the chance to do just what they signed up for. 


 The Old Glory Honor Flight offered them the opportunity to go back to Vietnam and see some of the places where they fought half a century ago. 


 For one of them....that meant taking a boat ride. 


 Green Bay Navy veteran Tom Sharp served in Vietnam in 1967 and 68.  


 He spent a lot of the time looking for the enemy and patrolling the maze of canals that make up the Mekong Delta. 


 On this trip, he took a ride up some of those familiar waterways. 


 "The boat would go up and down. We'd go searching and sometimes we would find them and sometimes we wouldn't" 


 Sharp says much of the time it was boring.... 


 "For me, in the boats, it was 45 minutes of boredom and then 15 minutes of pure hell." 


 The hell would begin when they would come across a nest of Viet Cong along the shore. 


 "All out firefight. A knockdown drag out fight on the river." 


 Sometimes, your head was on a swivel. 


 "The gunfire could come from any bank, or you could be hit from both banks at the same time." 


 Tom Sharp was eventually wounded and sent home. He also lost some good friends during those firefights. 


 The memory of them is just one of the reasons he wanted to return. 


 The Wisconsin veterans will go from Saigon to Da Nang to Hanoi before returning home. 


 The veterans return to Menasha High School from their Vietnam trip Saturday, March 9th. The public is invited to their welcome home celebration, with the doors opening at 5pm. 


 And you can follow the veteran's journey with daily updates, pictures, videos and more at the Return To Vietnam section at wtaq.com

Old Glory Honor Flight has created a once in a lifetime trip back to Vietnam for Northeast Wisconsin veterans.  This marks their first flight out of the United States.  "Our Vietnam vets were treated poorly upon their return and many vets feel as if they endured the horrors of war for nothing," said Old Glory Board member Scott Delsart. "This trip will give these vets an opportunity for some closure.  Seeing firsthand how the Vietnamese people have recovered from the war, will undoubtedly induce some much-needed healing for themselves." 

The two-week trip runs February 24th through March 9th, 2019.  Follow along as we provide coverage of this emotional journey.

"There's going to be a day where you're going to break down in tears. There's a lot of things going on and it's just going to happen." ~ Army veteran Jimmy Umentum of Denmark, WI