Deceased Vietnam vet Richard ‘Dick’ Mullen to get the welcome home he deserved
Richard Wayne “Dick” Mullen was idolized by his family.
He grew up during the 1950s and early 1960s in the Fairmount neighborhood near Wichita State University in a time when everybody knew everybody.
He learned early what it was like to feel a passion for his country – and why he felt a responsibility to become a Marine and fight in Vietnam.
Then, after earning a Silver Star, Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palms, he came home to a country that didn’t care or want to know about the blood and death he had witnessed.
Mr. Mullen died April 8 in Vonore, Tenn., following complications after a fall. He was 69 years old.
At a military graveside service at 2 p.m. today at the Wichita Park Cemetery, 3424 E. 21st St., his three siblings will give him the welcome home they think he deserved but never got.
At the service, the Marine Corps will fold an American flag and present it to the family. Taps will be played, followed by a gun salute. The American Legion Riders will be present.
“I grew up in the ’60s, and I saw the people who protested against the war and who were against the soldiers,” said Jay Mullen, the youngest of the Mullen brothers. “What they didn’t realize was that the soldier was not a diplomat. He was ordered to do a job and he does it – and is awarded to the degree that he does it. …
“Unlike the heroes of today who serve in Afghanistan and Iraq and come home heroes and are welcomed by everybody, the Vietnam heroes were forgotten.”
“Dick is a man who did what so few guys did during his time,” said Bob Mullen, another brother and a highly decorated Vietnam vet himself. “He went to war. He was one of the ones who suffered and suffered for years afterward. But as much as anybody did, he lived a life of sharing and caring for all the people around him.”
Mr. Mullen was born April 28, 1942, at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita.
As a boy, he attended Fairmount Grade School, later Mathewson Grade School and then East High School. His senior year, in 1960, his father moved the family to Liberal. That year, the Mullen brothers – Dick and Bob – helped lead the Liberal Redskins to the state championship in basketball.
The next year, Dick Mullen accepted a basketball scholarship to Washburn University. He received his bachelor’s degree in business in 1964 and then joined the Marine Corps. He served from 1965 to 1969, rising to the rank of captain. His brother Bob followed him to Vietnam.
After the war, Mr. Mullen worked for the Parker-Hannifin Corp. for 30 years as a plant manager in Texas, Maine and Mississippi.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Out of the Shadows, an organization benefiting veterans with post traumatic stress syndrome, in care of Bob Mullen, P.O. Box 774402, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477; or to the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
This story was originally published April 16, 2012 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Deceased Vietnam vet Richard ‘Dick’ Mullen to get the welcome home he deserved."