LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lance Corporal Raymond Longoria Montoya, a Vietnam War veteran, now has important symbols of service and sacrifice that he earned back in his hands.
Lubbock VFW Post 2466 made a stop to Montoya’s home, Thursday, to deliver the invaluable items. Items include a binder containing military records and old photos that date back more than five decades.
This moment was a bittersweet one for Mr. Montoya. When he arrived to Vietnam in 1968, he admits he and many others didn’t know what was going to take place when they landed.
“I’m sure anyone that was there at the time I was there can tell you it was pretty heated up,” Montoya said.
While he served his country honorably, earning a Purple Heart in the process, the return was not what he and many of his fellow Americans had hoped for.
“Then when we came back,” Montoya said, “everyone was calling us names and all kinds of stuff, so that made you feel even worse.”
Nearly 60 years later, LCpl Montoya has come to terms with that treatment, but it doesn’t mean he wants to discuss many of the things he saw during service.
Sarah Weede, Post 2466’s commander, has been searching for Mr. Montoya for quite some time now and is happy he can finally have these items back in his own home.
“To me, it’s another chapter closed for the family and Mr. Montoya himself because it’s important,“ Weede said. ”These things were not given to him, they were earned. It’s not only important for him to have them, but the family to have them and to show them the service he had for our country.”
Mr. Montoya is also calling on young Americans to make sure they can step up when the time calls for it.
“I think we need to get the younger generations, which obviously I’m not one of them, but I think they need to get more involved in politics and try and get people on there that would know what to do in case something like this happens,” Montoya said.
As he sits and reminisces on days past, Mr. Montoya can now sleep knowing a piece of him is back where it belongs.
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