U.S. veterans together with beloved journeys of spreading love

After the war ended, numerous U.S. veterans returned to Vietnam with their sincere hearts, hoping to heal the wounds of war. Among them, Mr. Matthew Keenan, Mr. Michael Gormalley and Mr. Chuck Searcy are notable individuals. They chose to return to the former battlegrounds to help heal and spread compassion.

Helping Agent Orange (AO) victims

Mr. Matthew Keenan enlisted in 1971 and was sent to Chu Lai, participating in closing U.S. military bases and transferring the responsibility to the South Vietnamese Army under the White House's Vietnamization strategy at the time.

In November 1971, his unit moved to Da Nang to continue the mission. Although Mr. Matthew Keenan did not directly engage in fierce battles, he witnessed the pains and losses that war had caused.

One of the motivations for his return to Vietnam was that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013, linked to exposure to Agent Orange. This illness made him reflect more deeply on the long-term effects of the chemical not only on American veterans but also on millions of Vietnamese people.

Beyond him, his friends were exposed to Agent Orange and suffered painful deaths pushing him to return to Vietnam.

Returning to Vietnam in 2015, the former U.S. veteran initially felt nervous and anxious as he has still not forgotten the memory of helicopters, rockets and jet fighters. He also wondered how Vietnamese people would react to an American veteran's return.

He shared with Sai Gon Giai Phong (SGGP) Newspaper that during the first return to Vietnam 40 years after the war, he realized that there was nothing to worry about as Vietnamese people were incredibly warm and friendly. Besides, he also added that Vietnamese people were curious about his return to Vietnam and after his first time of being back to Vietnam after the war had ended, he decided to come back again and again, eventually choosing Vietnam for living.

He began studying and seeking ways to help Agent Orange victims. He connected with the Da Nang Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin and its affiliated day care centers. He spent much time with children at the centers and helped raise funds to support them.

Now, at the age of 75, after radiation therapy and other cancer treatments, he admitted that he was not as strong as when he was 65 years old and had to limit his time at the daycare centers. Nevertheless, he and his wife consistently continue fundraising efforts, including donating about 800 bicycles to students in Quang Nam Province, and he also serves as a lecturer at schools in Da Nang, helping students improve their English communication skills.

Through his quiet, persistent efforts to heal the wounds of war, Mr. Matthew Keenan believed that the reconciliation between the two countries over the past 30 years has been tremendously successful.

Santa Claus for Vietnamese Children

Similar to Mr. Matthew Keenan, Mr. Michael Gormalley served the U.S. troops in Vietnam in 1971 as a U.S. Army sergeant. He led a security platoon overseeing 50 American and Vietnamese soldiers, tasked with inspecting thousands of workers entering and exiting Long Binh military base in Dong Nai Province to prevent smuggling and weapons infiltration. Before enlisting, he had studied Asian cultural history at university level.

After being discharged in January 1972, he returned to his hometown to continue his studies, then he graduated in 1973.

During the following 18 years, he worked as a history teacher at a secondary school, then served as a vice principal and principal at middle and high schools. Later, he served as a senior executive for an international non-profit organization until his retirement.

Michael Gormalley first returned to Vietnam in 2005 with a group of 12 wounded American veterans, visiting a series of destinations comprising localities in the Mekong Delta, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hue and Quang Tri Province. He shared with SGGP Newspaper that by the encouragement of Vietnamese teachers, he returned to Vietnam as a volunteer high school teacher in rural areas of Quang Tri and Phu Yen provinces and at universities in Ho Chi Minh City starting in 2008 after retirement.

In order to support his Vietnamese colleagues, he provided students with practical lessons in communications with foreigners.

In 2014, as receiving an invitation as a professor, he had a chance to introduce teaching skills on how to present resume writing, job interview techniques, and networking with human resources (HR) managers and business owners to students in the Faculty of International Relations (IR) at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City.

Since 2014, the former U.S. veteran has also dressed up as "Santa Claus" each Christmas, delivering hundreds of gifts and financial support to underprivileged children, including cancer patients.

Regarding U.S.-Vietnam relations, Mr. Michael Gormalley strongly believed in people-to-people diplomacy which can help individuals from different cultures to learn from one another and "heal together" after conflicts in the past.

He has turned this message into action through his active contributions in Vietnam.

Reparing the mistakes of the past

Chuck Searcy, another veteran who served in Vietnam in 1968, has a special story.

During his time in the war in Vietnam, he was haunted by the faces of innocent children—the metaphor of "smiling faces". He wondered why he had brought guns and bullets to attack those smiling faces.

This realization led him to leave the army after just one year (June 1967–June 1968) and join the anti-war movement in the U.S., dedicating his life to healing the consequences of the war.

In 1992, returning to Vietnam and visiting Khe Sanh in Quang Tri Province where the Khe Sanh Campaign took place, he was shocked to see poor children playing with unexploded bombs and scrap dealers dismantling bombs for explosives and metal which was a highly dangerous practice. This experience made him realize that the war's consequences still lingered decades after it ended.

Mr. Chuck Searcy shared that the 30-day trip to Vietnam deeply affected him and he had to do something to help the people still suffering from the war.

In 1993, he returned to Vietnam and decided to stay permanently in 1995. His mission became founding RENEW Project in 2001, a nonprofit organization specializing in the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Quang Tri Province. Thanks to their relentless efforts, hundreds of thousands of bombs have been neutralized, enabling thousands of people to live safely in their homeland.

In 2023, during U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam, U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper presented Chuck Searcy with a letter of appreciation from President Biden, recognizing his contributions to postwar recovery efforts. RENEW Project receives funding from the U.S. government to clear unexploded ordnance and support victims.

Having lived in Vietnam since 1995, and witnessing historic milestones in Vietnam–U.S. relations, Mr. Chuck Searcy believes the past 30 years have proven the decision by policymakers from both countries to "put the past behind and open a new future" is the right one.

Chuck Searcy shared that the two sides should respect each other and they are cooperating to heal the wounds of war—an essential part of reconciliation.

He added that as American citizens, including numerous former veterans in the war in Vietnam, they wished to send the deepest respect and heartfelt congratulations to the people of Vietnam on the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975–2025).

Chuck Searcy, along with Matthew Keenan and Michael Gormalley are among many veterans who once fought on Vietnamese battlefields and later became ambassadors of peace. They not only help address the war’s aftermath but also build bridges of culture, education, and humanity between the two nations.

Their stories are powerful evidence that while war can divide, compassion can heal wounds.