PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — There's a good chance you'll see a Vietnam War-era veteran here in South Florida.
One in three veterans in Florida are from that era, according to the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs.
Preserving the helicopters they flew in and vehicles they drove is something special groups of veterans do here in the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast.
Navy veteran and WPTV anchor Mike Trim is connecting groups that do this from Palm Beach and Okeechobee counties. Now they're working together.
Project 425 is a group of Vietnam War veterans and patriot volunteers that take Vietnam-era helicopters and vehicles to events like fairs, parades and fundraising galas.
"You meet a lot of good people," Ray Branch of Project 425 said. "You meet young people who are very interested in it and then you meet some of the older guys who were in the war."
It all starts at the G and M ranch in Loxahatchee Groves. The mission at the ranch is clear.
"Anything to keep alive the memory of aircrew service in Vietnam, I’m for, these guys are for," Michael Carroll of Project 425 said. "That's our motto by the way."
Since 2007, Project 425 has rehabbed helicopters and military vehicles.
They take them to dozens of events year-round and often get long overdue thanks for their era of service.
"When I came home (from the war), I didn't tell anybody. Nobody knew about it," Curt Rich of Project 425 said. "The only people at the airport was my family. Nobody was there to welcome me home."
"I was a prisoner of war and when we were released, we got a welcome home, the 600 of us that came home," Bill Arcuri of Project 425 said. "None of the other men and women who served in Vietnam got a welcome home."
Now, they are getting appreciation and a new connection.
Trim recently reported the story of Gregg Maynard and his nonprofit "Thank You for Your Service" rehabbing a Vietnam War-era chopper in Okeechobee.
Trim invited Maynard to meet Project 425 in Loxahatchee Groves. It didn't long for the groups to start talking shop and working together.
Looking at a section of the Project 425 helicopter that Carroll pointed out, Maynard said, "Show me what you got. I can make a phone call."
Maynard's father was a Vietnam War veteran.
For both groups, all this work is to make sure history is not forgotten.
"More people are realizing Vietnam did happen and that we do owe respect to these people," Rick Haugue of Project 425 said.
The next two appearances by Project 425 are Sunday, March 2 at Samuel J. Ferreri Community Park in Greenacres for the NAM Knights Rock & Roll.
The group will also be at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches at 5444 N Haverhill Road in West Palm Beach Tuesday, March 11 for CACTI Appreciation Day
Maynard intends to reveal the rehabbed Huey Helicopter in Okeechobee Veterans Park on Memorial Day weekend.
