GENESEO -- A former Miss America has her own memories of Vietnam and will share some of those during a program planned in conjunction with the return visit of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall.
Judi Ford Nash, who was crowned Miss America of 1969, now lives in Geneseo and will be one of the speakers at the Heroes Celebration beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, in City Park, at the conclusion of the Heroes Parade.
When Mrs. Nash was crowned Miss America, little did she know her reign would include a trip to Vietnam on a USO tour.
Even though it was an unexpected part of wearing the crown, she said she believes it was an important responsibility.
She spent nearly three weeks in the war zone of Southeast Asia with a troupe that included six other Miss America state winners, from Minnesota, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, New Jersey and New York.   
She said the “soldiers were wonderful. They really appreciated our going over there to bring them a little bit of ‘home,' and they cheered and applauded every show. ... Truly, we could not have had a better audience!”
“We had a show of about 20 to 25 singing and dancing routines that we performed at the major bases and camps throughout the country,” she said, explaining the group flew into Saigon and traveled throughout the country.
“We also visited a number of smaller fire-support bases, as well as with patients in hospitals and on hospital ships,” she said.
The group traveled by military aircraft -- “choppers, helicopters and various types of aircraft, and we also rode in many Jeeps.”
“We slept in some villas and hotels, as well as in some barracks, and some were nicer than others, but they all were quite primitive. Most had lizards on the ceilings to eat mosquitoes, which was rather unsettling.”
Even though the USO took “very good care” of the group, Mrs. Nash said, it was “still somewhat dangerous. There were a few times we had to go to the bunkers because of incoming rounds and attacks, but for the most part, we felt reasonably safe.”
“I ran into a number of GI’s from my hometown (Belvidere) that I didn’t even know were over there,” she said.
In recent years, Mrs. Nash estimated, she has heard from 10 to 15 former soldiers who took the time to look her up to let her know how much they appreciated the visit she and the other state pageant winners made to Vietnam.
“It meant a lot to me that these men took the time to find me after all these years to tell me that,” she said. “We apparently made a difference, and I am very proud of that!”
Mrs. Nash is the wife of Geneseo attorney James Nash. She is retired from teaching elementary physical education and coaching in the Geneseo School District.
One of the soldiers serving in Vietnam during Mrs. Nash's visit there met her again during the first visit of the Traveling Wall to Geneseo.
John Barton, Alpha, recalled the thrill of meeting “Miss America and the other girls.” Mr. Barton, who was serving in the U.S. Army and stationed in Vietnam at Landing Zone Pony, said Mrs. Nash and the group with her in the helicopter above the landing zone noticed the soldiers as they flew over.
“It was not a planned landing, but they did land, and that’s how I met her,” he said.
Mr. Barton has a photo of himself and Mrs. Nash that was taken during that stop. “I had my picture taken with her because I knew she and I both were from Illinois,”  he said.
He said a friend, Joe Bedford, a member of the Don Cherry Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Geneseo, told him Mrs. Nash would be part of the parade during the first visit of the Wall to Geneseo in 2013. "I decided I would come to Geneseo and look her up,” Mr. Barton said.
“Meeting her in Vietnam was always a good memory for me, and I knew she had married someone from Geneseo,” he said. “I did some research and learned she had been a teacher and a coach in Geneseo.”
“When we were lining up for the parade that first time the Vietnam Wall was there, I was watching for her, and when I saw her, I knew that was Judi, the Miss America I met in Vietnam, and she is a celebrity,” he said.
Mr. Barton also praised members of the VFW Post and Auxiliary for their efforts to bring the Wall to Geneseo in 2013.
“That parade three years ago was a welcome home for Vietnam vets,” he said. “For me, it was the most cleansing experience I have had since the whole 'Nam experience. It has been 40 years of frustration because when we came home from 'Nam, we were losers. I wasn’t treated like that in my hometown, but I had that feeling.”
“There were no welcome-home parades for us,” he said. “When 'Nam vets came home, there were no crowds. It was an ugly war. That day three years ago in Geneseo was a homecoming for us. It unleashed a lot of emotions for me.”
Mr. Barton said, “Geneseo is just a beautiful community. That day of the parade, both young and old people were waving flags and shouting, ‘Thank you and God bless!’ Every Vietnam vet needs to experience what I experienced that day in Geneseo.”
http://www.qconline.com/news/local/vietnam-vet-meets-miss-america-again/article_87fc1dad-57b2-596c-ab20-4e0dfdc35518.html