Navy Veteran found healing in Vietnam after 54 years

Phil Yates’s volunteer mission to former war zone

In 1972, Phil Yates found himself at Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam. He was operating with Carrier Air Wing 3, known as the “Battle Axe,” aboard the carrier USS Saratoga. While the Vietnam War raged around him, the hostile environment and constant destruction left deep marks on his psyche. After six grueling months in the war zone, Yates vowed to bury those memories and the trauma they carried deep within. For many years, he managed to suppress those painful recollections, carrying on with his life while the shadows of the past loomed within.

An unexpected journey

On Jan. 10, 2026, an unexpected trip would change everything for him. Yates had volunteered with the Sam’s Furniture Serve Team and the American Wheelchair Mission, a charity that focuses on bringing mobility to children and adults. The mission was clear and noble: to provide aid to Vietnam Veterans and civilians who had lost their mobility.

With mixed feelings, Yates returned to the country that had haunted his nightmares for decades. The transformation that awaited him was beyond anything he had anticipated. The once war-torn landscapes had blossomed into lush, beautiful scenery. The people who were once his enemies were now friendly and welcoming toward him. The beauty and warmth of it all was a stark contrast to the memories clouded by smoke and destruction.

“The landscape was so different. It was beautiful. It was lush. People who were once my enemy were no longer,” Yates reflected. “I saw them as people, just like us. They suffered just like us.”

During the 6-day visit, more than 260 wheelchairs were donated to Vietnam’s Veterans, children and adults with mobility issues.

Healing and closure

As Yates traveled through the Vietnamese countryside, memories from 1972 surfaced with surprising intensity. Yet, in those moments of reconnection with his past and his pain, healing began.

“Revisiting Vietnam allowed me to make peace with the hardest time of my life,” he said. “I came full circle on this trip. Providing mobility to a North Vietnamese war Veteran suffering from Agent Orange exposure made me realize that we all suffered.”

Yates expressed profound gratitude for the unexpected closure this journey had brought him. Standing amidst the beauty of a once-ravaged land and extending a hand of compassion to former adversaries, he found solace and relief from the wounds he had carried for so long.

“I have great respect and gratitude for the men and women who served in the country for a year or more at a time under harsh conditions in the mountains, jungles and swamps under constant enemy fire. They are the heroes,” Yates noted.

As he prepared to leave Vietnam, not as a soldier but as a healer, Yates felt a sense of completion. The mission, the land and the people had all played a part in bringing him full circle. The journey that began with pain had ended with peace.