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.<\/p>\n
Lubbock VFW Post 2466 made a stop to Montoya\u2019s home, Thursday, to deliver the invaluable items. Items include a binder containing military records and old photos that date back more than five decades.<\/p>\n
This moment was a bittersweet one for Mr. Montoya. When he arrived to Vietnam in 1968, he admits he and many others didn\u2019t know what was going to take place when they landed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure anyone that was there at the time I was there can tell you it was pretty heated up,\u201d Montoya said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen when we came back,\u201d Montoya said, \u201ceveryone was calling us names and all kinds of stuff, so that made you feel even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly 60 years later, LCpl Montoya has come to terms with that treatment, but it doesn\u2019t mean he wants to discuss many of the things he saw during service.<\/p>\n
Sarah Weede, Post 2466\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, it\u2019s another chapter closed for the family and Mr. Montoya himself because it\u2019s important,\u201c Weede said. \u201dThese things were not given to him, they were earned. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Montoya is also calling on young Americans to make sure they can step up when the time calls for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we need to get the younger generations, which obviously I\u2019m 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,\u201d Montoya said.<\/p>\n
As he sits and reminisces on days past, Mr. Montoya can now sleep knowing a piece of him is back where it belongs.<\/p>\n
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