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Bucks County veterans reminded of past conflicts in wake of Afghanistan chaos
JoAnn Pileggi talks with Bucks County veterans as they watch Afghanistan unravel into chaos
BENSALEM, Pa. - Two veterans, one from Vietnam and one from Desert Storm, watching the chaos in Afghanistan are eerily reminded of another withdrawal from another conflict in Southeast Asia.
"I’m seeing it all over again. We had all of our troops over there and we left all those Vietnamese people that did help. They were left the same way," Vietnam veteran Francis Guerra explained.
Guerra and Desert Storm veteran Richard Hoppel are gripped with emotion watching images of U.S. troop withdrawal in Afghanistan and the chaos left behind, the loss of civilian lives and the loss of U.S. service personnel in the last two decades.
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"We didn’t do nothing. It’s the same as it was before we went over there," Guerra added.
As the Taliban continued taking back control of cities in Afghanistan nearly twenty years after U.S. forces tried to stabilize the country, veterans struggle with a purpose.
"I was just with Goldstar families and veterans from Afghanistan and to talk to these family members and these vets and hear what they’re saying…it’s just heartbreaking," Hoppel remarked.
Veterans at the VFW Post in Bensalem say the members of the military have served their country, have tried to do the right thing and protect and save the Afghani people, who fear for their lives.
"Watching a video clip of the C-130 pulling out of Afghanistan with civilians hanging on and falling off…it’s so hard, as a service member," Hoppel said.
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