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Handing out hugs to veterans on Memorial Day

Who doesn't love a good hug?

WASHINGTON -- I walked down to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in order to meet up with a group that was giving out free hugs to vets today. Unfortunately, I never found them, but what I did find were these awesome Vietnam veterans that came that came to DC to celebrate and commemorate the holiday together. 

Roger McGill and Emanuel Holloman hadn't seen each other in about 50 years. The served together in Vietnam as an RTO and an interpreter. When I asked them what brought them together after so long, Roger pointed to the Vietnam Memorial wall. They were with a group of about 20 men from Chicago who all served in Vietnam. 

Credit: wusa9

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Even though I didn’t find that group that was supposed to be giving out free hugs to veterans, I decided to give out some free hugs and ask the vets how they feel about receiving hugs from strangers. Do they think it's sweet or weird?  

 "I would appreciate it very much. It’s an honor. It’s an honor and a privilege," Vietnam veteran, Anthony Mustifa said. "To have that hug, it’s a big thing because we didn’t get it when we came back from Vietnam. There were no hugs – no anything. But now, to receive it now, it’s an honor."

The consensus: as long as you announce what you're up to, then you're pretty much in the clear.

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