Arlington Hts. invites all Vietnam vets to parade

After 44 years, Bill Dussling thinks it's time he got a little recognition for his service as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam.

That's why he's accepted the invitation to walk in the Arlington Heights Memorial Day parade from organizer Greg Padovani, who is making a special outreach to Vietnam veterans for this year's parade.

It's the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, Padovani said.

"For a number of years Village President Arlene Mulder and I have talked about what can we do for the Vietnam veterans," Padovani said. "They had a rough homecoming."

Arlington Heights is putting together a big Memorial Day weekend. A jazz concert at 3 p.m. Saturday starring vocalist Tammy McCann will benefit the Memorial Park renovation fund, and a 200-voice choir will sing for the Memorial Day service after the parade.

But the most ambitious event is the parade itself. It will feature the Northwest Suburban Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, which will march with banners, a truck and a color guard, said Alan Van Bladel, president of the unit.

Padovani convinced the Vietnam vets to come by pointing out how exciting parade-watchers make it for veterans. Arlington Heights residents line the parade route and "stand, cheer and say 'thank you,' really making veterans feel appreciated," he said.

"I've gotten calls, emails and even people who have stopped at my house to thank me for the outreach to Vietnam veterans," said Padovani, a Vietnam-era veteran who served only in the U.S. He is encouraging all Vietnam veterans to come march alongside the VVA unit.

Dussling said he never felt the need to be welcomed home, but at this point in his life "a little appreciation would be nice."

Now known as a longtime member of the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 Board of Education, Dussling flew his Huey helicopter over the central highlands of Vietnam in 1967 and '68 for all kinds of missions, from combat assaults to resupplies and medical evacuations.

"I was 24 and 25. You know, you're invincible then, and you do what you are trained to do," said Dussling, who was commissioned after ROTC in college and was a captain when he left the Army six years later.

"I wasn't wounded or suffered post-traumatic stress like so many veterans did," he said. "It was a time in my life I don't want to live over and by the same token I'm not sorry I did it."

After leaving the war zone, Dussling flew into San Francisco in the summer of 1968, and while no one was overtly rude, he felt his uniform or just the short haircut garnered strange looks.

"That was not a good time for the country or those of us who were there," he said. "I think the country wanted to forget about it afterward."

A few good memories about his homecoming stand out. Spiro Agnew, whom the Republican Party had just nominated for vice president, saw the Dusslings standing on a corner to check out a gathering of limousines at a hotel, and walked over and shook Bill Dussling's hand.

And the soldier was moved when the manager of the hotel where they stayed for four or five days cut the couple's bill in half "because I was in Vietnam and was coming back."

The parade will start at 9:30 a.m. Monday, at Arlington Heights village hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights, and end at Memorial Park, Chestnut Avenue and Fremont Street. There, a ceremony will feature a choir of almost 200 people organized by Henry Kogler of St. Peter Lutheran Church.

Special honors will be accorded 16 Marines killed in Fallujah, Iraq, an idea inspired by Mike Wiebe, an Arlington Heights Park District employee who served with those Marines and who helped install the eternal flame in the park.

Members of the Arlington High School class of 1964 will also honor their classmates who died in Vietnam, Robert Conti and William Dabbert.

Memorial Day weekend in Arlington Heights

Benefit concert

3 p.m. Saturday, May 26, jazz vocalist Tammy McCann and the Reunion Jazz Orchestra, at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St. $35; $30 for senior citizens and veterans.

metropolisarts.com; (847) 577-2121.Salute Inc. Run Walk8 a.m. Sunday, May 27, ninth annual Got Freedom? 5K/10K Run and 5K Walk, Miner School, 1101 E. Miner St. $35, payable at

Saluteinc.org or Runners Hi 'n Tri, 121 W. Campbell St. or at the race start.Memorial Day parade9:30 a.m. Monday, May 28, starts at Village Hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights Road, goes west on Sigwalt Street to Dunton Avenue, north to Euclid Avenue, west to Chestnut Avenue and south to Memorial Park, Chestnut and Fremont Street.

vah.comMemorial ceremonyAt Memorial Park, Chestnut Avenue and Fremont Street, following parade. Visit

ahpd.org or contact Greg Padovani, arlingtonheightsveterans@gmail.com or (847) 392-9113.