The man you see pictured is Dennis Grange, shaking the hand of one of the soldier monuments at The Wall in D.C. The photo was taken by Michael Keating and this is what Dennis wrote to Michael; which appeared on the latest edition of The VVA Veteran Magazine. "A Veteran told me he saw the picture of me shaking hands with one of the soldiers at The Wall. So, I looked it at up on Facebook. I remember shaking hands and thinking to myself 'I wish someone would have shaken mine when I came home'. It was a spontaneous gesture." He then recalls: "When I saw the photo, I was humbled because seven good friends of mine were killed in Vietnam"
Dennis then talks about his transition home: "After returning home I had a difficult time adjusting. The night before leaving Vietnam in 1966, I threw hand grenades at the North Vietnamese. Two days later I was in parent's living room." Upon his return, he began working during the days and school at night, until he quit work and earned a B.A. and M.A. After graduating, Dennis began looking for jobs, and no one would hire him despite his many attempts, until a head-hunter in Atlanta explained why: "Well, here's the problem: You need to take out 'Vietnam veteran' off your resume." Within two weeks, he receives a job, pointing out the discrimination against Vietnam Vets at the time and ending the article with this: "We are proud of our service. Few of us were brave. We were just able to choke back the fear day after day, night after night. We were proud of that because we learned a lot about ourselves. All we ever wanted was what our fathers got - a parade and not discrimination; and you Michael, captured that with your lens and your heart." #truth #warrior #vietnam #patriot #veterans #military