My late father and father in-law served in Vietnam, and I grew up during that war watching are heroes humiliated, ridiculed and spat upon by fellow "Americans" after honorable service in that war. I, like so many military dependents was angry at the human scum who mocked our courageous men and women in uniform and at a country that did not adequately honor our veterans for their service.

Today Army Lt. Col. Bruce P. Crandall was informed that he will receive the Medal of Honor from President George W. Bush for his service in the battle of Landing Zone X-Ray, which was one of the bloodiest battles in Vietnam, a battle which served as the subject matter of Mel Gibson's movie "We were Soldiers."

Americans should take time to write and thank Lt. Col. Crandall for his heroism, and in so doing keep alive the memory of all those heroes, alive and dead, who once served our country, and for those heroes who serve our country today in Iraq and Afghanistan.