ARLINGTON, Texas — On November 4, 2013, a group of thirteen Marines returning from Afghanistan received a heartwarming surprise on a stopover at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
Tears of joy were shed by the Marines and onlookers as they were greeted by a large crowd of firefighters, police and USO volunteers that gathered on short notice. The story got national news coverage after seven passengers gave up their first-class seats to honor the Marines on their flight from San Diego.
This kind of “hero's welcome” has become an American cultural phenomenon. Many service members and veterans of a certain age have had this kind of experience, where they’re shown gratitude and respect in a grand way honoring their service. That celebration of service hasn’t always been the case. Veterans of the Vietnam War were often treated very poorly upon return.
The war was widely opposed by Americans for a slew of reasons including a belief the draft was unfairly administered. Opposition grew in part to greater access to uncensored information through large-scale television ground-coverage from Vietnam.
Stories of soldiers returning to airports were met by protest and those in opposition of the war spitting and shouting profanities were normal occurrences.
When Vietnam combat veteran Clete McAlister returned to his hometown of Arlington, Texas, he wanted to “hang up his uniform, and blend in.” McAlister joined the Marines while in college knowing the possibility of a draft was in his future. He was 22-years-old and looked forward to serving his country, following in the footsteps of family members who had served before him.
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“In 1969, you didn't want to make a big deal about it,” said McAlister in reference to his service “In fact, the first thing that almost everybody did was put their uniforms away. You got into your civilian clothes and you didn't get a haircut for a while. Most of us tried to blend in, and not stand out.”
After the war he had a long career in local government as a budget analyst for the City of Houston and various positions within Tarrant County, including intergovernmental coordinator, senior planner, director of planning, and operations manager for the district courts, just to name a few. He was Tarrant County’s first criminal courts administrator for all twenty misdemeanor county criminal and felony criminal district courts, and is proud to have helped establish the 911 emergency network in Tarrant County.
In retirement, he’s kept busy by serving on the City of Arlington’s Planning and Zoning Commission, AISD’s Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee, Theatre Arlington’s Board of Directors, and is the former president of the Rotary Club of Arlington. But, his true passion lies in honoring Veterans past and present.
He’s the president of the Arlington Veterans Park Foundation. He served as the race director of the Arlington Heroes Run which benefits Arlington police and fire veterans.
McAlister’s also responsible for organizing the annual Arlington Field of Honor event where hundreds of American flags are displayed on the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Proceeds from the event benefit completion of memorials in Veterans Park.
At the park there are eight pillars surrounding a statue of Arlington veteran Neel E. Kearby, the U.S. Army Air Forces colonel and P-47 Thunderbolt pilot in World War II who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat.
Five of the pillars are covered in hundreds of pictures mostly depicting portraits of veterans past and present in their uniforms, the majority of them are from Arlington.
“This project was created earlier this year and has gotten a great response from the community,” said McAlister. “We asked for pictures and they sent them our way.”
Although it wasn't his idea, he helped organize the project and has links to many of the pictures on display. Family members and friends including his late best friend and fellow Vietnam veteran, Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel William "Bill" Hinds, Jr. can be found scattered throughout the pillars.
“I miss Bill a lot,” said McAlister. “He passed last year and was a great guy. He was a Marine Navigator, and commanded the squadron that flew Marine One for two presidents.”
With all of the pictures on display a handsome portrait of McAlister can’t be found with the others.
“I don't have any pictures of just me in a uniform,” said McAlister
“There’s only one, and it’s not very good. When my mother had a stroke, we had to move the stuff out of her house, and what pictures there were, she had them. They somehow disappeared. But, there was one rolled up in a tube that had a picture of my infantry training battalion,” he said.
When McAlister pulled out the large picture from the tube, he found the only picture he had of himself during his time of service. The pixelated picture shows nine men in a group photograph.
“I’m the second one from the top in the center,” said McAlister.
He said it would be nice to have a marine portrait of a 22-year-old Clete to join the others, but for him pictures don’t matter all that much.
He knows he served, and is proud to have done so.
“For me, honor lives within,” he said.
McAlister is helping organize the 14th annual Veterans Day Commemorative Ceremony at Veterans Park, 3600 W. Arkansas Lane, at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021.
The Arlington community is invited to attend the event organized by the Arlington Veterans Park Foundation and the Arlington Great Southwest Rotary Club.
Medal of Honor. Col. Jim Quick, U.S.A.F retired, will be the Master of Ceremonies, and Captain Florent A. Groberg, US Army, is slated for the featured speaker. Patriotic music will be provided by Arlington’s Judge Carr and the Cowtown Music Club.
Attendees to the ceremony are invited to a complimentary lunch immediately following the ceremony, courtesy of the Heroes of South Vietnam Memorial Foundation.
For more information or to reserve a lunch, contact Event Coordinator Jim Runzheimer, at 817-795-2020 or runz-law@att.net.
You can also follow the event on Facebook.
If you have an interesting story or an issue you’d like to see covered, let us know about it.
Share your ideas with DFW Human Interest Reporter Lupe Zapata by emailing him at Lupe.Zapata@Charter.com
