Local man reminds others of the importance of Veterans Day

Veterans Day is next Monday, and a local Vietnam Veteran, Larry Kupka, is a strong advocate for the importance of that day.

“Veterans Day is a day that shows honor to folks that volunteered to serve their country,” Kupka said. “It shows respect for those who left their homes and families to do their part for their country. It’s a tribute to their sacrifice. That’s who you owe your freedom to. They went overseas to allow you to have your freedom that you have today.”

Kupka was eager to join the military when he was younger. He volunteered to serve and was not drafted.

“The military teaches discipline, honor and respect,” Kupka said. “I would encourage people to join the military because you learn about a lot of positive things that you don’t learn on the streets. Plus, you get a lot of good training and are taught productive skills. I joined the military in the United States Army in September 1967 and signed up as a combat engineer.”

A combat engineer is a soldier who performs military engineering tasks to support land forces during combat operations. This includes demolition, mine warfare, reconnaissance, clearing obstacles, and constructing wire entanglements, bridges and field fortifications.

“I went to Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk), Louisiana for infantry training and then went to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for combat engineering training and I was shipped to Vietnam and arrived there in February of 1968,” Kupka said. “When I arrived there, I was assigned to฀the฀Quan฀Loi฀fire฀base฀ in the southern part of Vietnam supporting the ‘Big Red One’ Infantry Division. There was a ground attack by the enemy on the fire base on my first night there. Also, the enemy would launch mortars on the fire base about 1 to 2 am fairly regular to try to take out strategic targets and troops on our fire base. As combat engineers, we were the jack of all trades. We covered for the infantry when they were out on missions and we kept the roads cleared of mines, and booby traps. Every day, I got into demolition and cleared a lot of jungle foliage to keep enemy snipers from having vantage points to fire upon our troops during construction operations out in the ‘boonies.’”

Kupka did multiple tours.

“I had very close friends from around the area that were wounded or killed over in Vietnam, so I decided to go back over there if it would keep one more person from having to go there,” Kupka said.

Kupka said he thinks this nation should do more for veterans.

“When I see veterans homeless, begging on street corners, sleeping on the streets, I think (this nation) should take a more proactive step in getting these veterans jobs and into housing,” Kupka said. “You need to take better care of our folks here at home that have been through unimaginable stuff to protect and maintain our freedom from foreign aggressors.”

As of last year, 35,574 veterans were experiencing homelessness in the United States according to Veteran’s Affairs. This is a 7.4% increase from the previous year. Of those, 20,067 were sheltered while 15,507 were unsheltered.

Kupka has a lot of pride in wearing the uniform.

“There’s a sense of pride when accomplishing a mission out there,” Kupka said. “If you did a good job over there, they would tell you.”

Kupka said it was difficult to adjust to civilian life after serving.

“You followed a strict schedule out there religiously,” Kupka said. “When you get home, it’s tough to adapt to civilian life with no specific schedule. Vietnam Veterans had it particularly difficult back then because we were not very well accepted when we came back home. There were some people that believe we shouldn’t have been over there in the first place. These days, it’s getting much better. More people are showing respect. Now, you can’t walk into a store or down the street without somebody saying, ‘thank you for your service.’ Fellow Vietnam Veterans say ‘welcome home.’”

Kupka works with the veterans daily.

“I was in the VVA in Hallettsville and now I work strongly with the American Legion Post 571 in Sweet Home,” Kupka said. “We do all kind of activities in our communities. We, with the assistance of the YHS Interact Club, puts the flags out on the highways around Yoakum in tribute to Memorial Day and Veterans Days. Flags are placed on all veterans’ gravesites in four cemeteries in the Sweet Home area. We also do fundraisers. The Sweet Home American Legion Post 571 has one of the most top-notch Honor Guards around for performing military funerals. We believe that every veteran deserves a proper military send-off, even if they are not a member of an organization or where they are from. It is a very rewarding experience especially when the families of the veterans express their gratitude and appreciation. A lot of organizations here in Yoakum respect and support us for what we do.”

Looking forward, Kupka is one of the workers and cooks for the upcoming annual Williams Ranch Wounded Warriors Hero Hunt on Saturday, Nov. 9 which is a charity event, and the public is invited.

Kupka wants to remind others to show respect and honor to all veterans, even after Veterans Day.