Dr. Glenn Miller is a Vietnam War veteran. He saw firsthand the horrors of war, having survived 34 patrols. He witnessed members of his unit killed in action; experienced fear.

And then he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

It took him until age 66 - 42 years after leaving Vietnam - before he sought help from the Veterans Administration.

On Tuesday, Miller addressed Vietnam veterans at the Lehighton American Legion Post and emphasized that they are never too old to seek help.

“At first I was too proud to seek help,” he said. He added that the person he met at the VA “was totally clueless of the savagery of combat,” but he still was able to obtain necessary assistance.

Miller spoke during the second annual luncheon for Vietnam Veterans, hosted by the Christine LeClair, director of Veterans Affairs in Carbon County.

The luncheon was held on the eve of National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

Also present were all the Carbon County commissioners: Chairman Wayne Nothstein, who is a Vietnam-era veteran; Rocky Ahner, and Chris Lukasevich.

LeClair said more than 160 people attended the event. One of the co-sponsors was St. Luke’s Hospital, which had a bag of items for the veterans. LeClair said Girl Scouts donated cookies for the event and local school children made coloring sheets.

LeClair is an Iraq War veteran. She said it was when she returned home from Iraq that she developed a special spot in her heart for Vietnam veterans.

She said she arrived at an airport, en route home from Iraq, at about 2 a.m. When she emerged from the airport tunnel, she was greeted by about 100 military veterans, many of them wearing Vietnam War hats.

She said - and Miller agreed - that Vietnam veterans didn’t get the same welcome home treatment that she got.

“I want them to feel that same welcome,” LeClair said.

Miller, of Harleysville, has a Ph.D. in business and taught at Temple University. He served in a Rangers unit and related some of his war experiences.

He said figures indicate that 58,318 Americans died in action in Vietnam.

“You all were affected; some of us more so than others,” Miller said.

Between 1975 and 1990, another 58,000 Vietnam veterans died, he said. Many died from suicide, Agent Orange or “they drank themselves to death.”

“In short, the Vietnam War did not end in 1975. It went on in the minds of the veterans,” he said. “I survived, and I knew I was lucky.”

He said that when he returned home, “I was not very welcome.”

He said it took more than two years to find a decent job. “Without further elaboration,” he said, “my character had changed. I was not part of my community. I was isolated.

“I was very angry when I came home about the injustice. People treated me very poorly. Veterans were not getting their benefits from the VA.”

He gave special recognition to his wife for helping him through his crisis.

He said since he didn’t fit in, he became motivated to find “my calling,” which led him to a teaching career.

He worked with athletes at Temple, and he and his wife also collaborated with the Mennonites and United Church of Christ to work with veterans.

He urged the veterans to take advantage of programs St. Luke’s Hospital has brought to the county in conjunction with the office of Veterans Affairs.

Jennifer Spitler, outreach coordinator for the Pa. Department of Military Affairs, was also on hand to talk to veterans.