Honoring the vets

From the end of the 1960s until the organization disbanded in the mid-1970s, members of the SEMO Veteran Corps didn't quite look like the other students on campus. A bit scruffy and sometimes dressed in fatigues, the returnees from the Vietnam War were older than most of the other Southeast Missouri State University students. They also had had experiences the other students could scarcely comprehend.

They had no heroes' welcome.

The Veteran Corps will hold a reunion during Southeast Missouri State University's Homecoming Oct. 21. About 100 members have said they will attend. Organizers are inviting veterans from every era to march in the homecoming parade, and the veterans will be recognized at a ceremony prior to the Southeast football game.

It's been a long time coming.