FRED DOSTER, sitting on his footlocker while serving in the U.S. Army at Long Bien, Vietnam, in 1970. (Photo courtesy of Fred Dostler)
By Scott White
Woodford Sun Staff
Everyone is invited to the Bluegrass Railroad Museum on Sunday, March 29, at 3 p.m. to “welcome home” nearly 60 veterans of the Vietnam War, along with their spouses and guests, when an honor train pulls into the station.
The veterans are primarily from Woodford and Fayette counties, but they will also be coming from Scott, Montgomery, Warren, and Hardin counties.
“When people came back from World Wars I and II, there were roaring crowds. When they came back from fighting in Desert Storm in Kuwait and Iraq, there were roaring crowds,” said Fred Doster, a Vietnam vet and businessman who lives in Lexington and is the primary organizer of Sunday’s honor train. “When I got back, I flew into the Syracuse airport and was given a paper bag with an overcoat, jeans and sneakers. I went into the men’s room to change. Then, when I walked out, there were protesters with signs saying ‘Baby Killers’ and spitting on us vets. That was our welcome home.”
And that is the motivation behind the honor train ride.
“I was angry then. I had taken a big pay cut and given 18 months of my life to serving my country, cause that’s what you do as a citizen. But I was lucky . . . I had a job waiting, I went to college and had a great career,” he recalls with emotion tinging his voice. “Now, welcoming them home is what this is all about; these people need to hear people say ‘welcome home’ and that’s what I’m hoping we do this weekend.”
This is what Doster and the other organizers are asking from Woodford Countians and surrounding counties: Come out on Sunday at 3 p.m. to be there when the veteran’s honor train pulls into the Bluegrass Railroad Museum’s station with applause and signs and shouting, “WELCOME HOME!”
The event will also include music from the Sons of the American Revolution’s Fife and Drum Corp, sing-a-longs and opportunities to meet and talk with the veterans.
The story of how this came into being is a good one. Military Missions is a nonprofit headquartered in Lexington. It was founded in 2004 by Beth Pennington, the mother of a United States Marine. While her son was deployed overseas, Pennington sent him a care package filled with a “taste of home,” which became known as Mrs. Pennington’s shoe boxes. From that start, she continued sending packages, first to additional members of her son’s unit, and eventually to other deployed service members as well. Her work continues today. So far, Military Missions has sent 11,278 “shoe boxes” to deployed military personnel around the world.
What began at a kitchen table has since become a significant mission.
When attending the Military Mission’s annual volunteer picnic in 2024, Doster saw a need to recruit younger volunteers. Later that year, he felt the “call” to do something special for Veterans Day, on Nov. 11, 2025. He thought that if a few groups or individuals could sponsor a “free” veteran’s meal at a quality restaurant, then he might get a few younger veterans to participate in the organization’s work.
As with many good ideas, the word spread, and instead of a dozen, the accepted list multiplied into 51.
Thomas Vo, whom Doster had met the prior year, was the son of parents who were on the last boat out of South Vietnam as the United States left Vietnam . . . the boat was used in their family business. There were 262 men, women and children aboard who were rescued by the sailors of the USS Robinson DDG-12 and who found freedom and built a life in the U.S.
Vo’s passion for Vietnam veterans led him to help sponsor “hero flights” for those veterans to fly to Washington to visit the Vietnam War Memorial. Doster learned of this while Vo came and spoke at the Veterans Day Lunch, which included a visit to the Thomson-Hood Veterans long-term care facility in Wilmore.
Doster, who no longer flies, thought of offering a similar experience to Vietnam veterans here, but it would be a “welcome home” event via a train ride. He met with Ben Tate and Glen Walker at the railroad museum and asked if he could “rent” the train to hold the veteran’s event on March 29, National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
The museum readily agreed. The next step was for Doster to arrange a primary sponsor. Military Missions signed on, and Doster was able to line up additional sponsors, including Jack Kain Ford here in Versailles.
Everything for the honor train ride is set for Sunday, March 29. Doster hopes this is just the first in what will become an annual event, explaining he already has a waiting list of veterans who want to take the ride.
So, if you don’t have plans for Sunday afternoon, drive out to the Bluegrass Railroad Museum and be there by 3 p.m. to give thanks, honor and welcome home to veterans who served us and our country.
As Doster reminds us, these honorable veterans need to hear us say, “Welcome home.”