Vietnam vets ready for Branson tribute

Skip Palmer, executive director of Operation Homecoming USA, the 501(c)3 organization formed to organize the event, said it’s difficult, but not impossible, to estimate attendance for the first-time tribute.

“I’ve been involved with governments around the world planning world fairs, world expositions, and five years out I can work with them and do an attendance projection within 5 percent of total attendance,” he said.

Palmer estimated the event’s final price tag at $6 million. The budget includes $20,000 per month in salaries for the eight-member staff in Branson. The price of the June 18 grand finale will cost two-thirds of the event’s total budget, said event founder Gary Linderer.

Linderer said that former presidential hopeful Ross Perot donated $2 million for the event, which Perot would neither confirm nor deny.

“When they contacted me about the Branson event and wanted me to help them with it, I told them I’d be happy to,” Perot said from his Dallas office, adding that he plans to attend part of the Welcome Home events. “I want them to be given the proper welcome home that every military man should be given.”

Some controversy has clouded the event due to confusion over registration fees. The registration fee of $79.95 for adults and $39.95 for teens is only required for those attending the grand finale, Palmer said, adding that the majority of Welcome Home events are free of charge.

Linderer said 6,900 individuals are registered. He sees Welcome Home not only as a way to pay tribute to veterans, but also as a way to introduce new visitors to Branson.

“If vets can come to this town and see how they’re treated here and what’s available here and how inexpensive it is compared to other parts of the country, they’ll come back here for future reunions,” he said.

Making Welcome Home an annual event would require disbanding the 501(c)3, formed specifically for a single event, and forming a new one. “We’ll have to go out and find someone to give us start-up funds because you can’t take excess funds with you into the new one,” Linderer said.

Any excess funds, Palmer said, would be donated to two nonprofit organizations – Branson Veteran’s Task Force, which holds events throughout the year to honor veterans, and the Wounded Warrior Project, a New Hampshire-based group that provides assistance to disabled veterans.

Welcome Home has caught the attention of corporate America.

American Airlines is offering veterans a 10 percent discount on flights booked through www.operationhomecoming

usa.com. Karl McAfee, midwest regional promotions director for American Airlines, said the company is supporting the event in several ways, including an article and full-page ad in the airlines’ American Way magazine.

He declined to assign a dollar value to American Airlines’ contributions.

Anheuser-Busch is a corporate sponsor as well, also contributing an undisclosed amount.

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