Nation To Observe Vietnam War Veterans Day

I’m thinking of my late brother Ed Davis (seen in the above photo), as today is Vietnam Veterans Day. 

My older brother served in the U.S. Army at Chu Lai in South Vietnam in 1968. 

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk on "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam in 1970-1971. 

David Vergun at the DoD News offers a piece on Vietnam Veterans Day. 

On March 29, Americans will come together to commemorate the service and sacrifices made by the nearly 3 million service members who served in Vietnam. 

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a presidential proclamation, designating March 29 as the annual observance of Vietnam War Veterans Day. 

The signing of the proclamation marked the 50th anniversary of the departure of the last American troops from Vietnam — March 29, 1973. Only U.S. embassy personnel and support staff remained in South Vietnam until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. 

"The Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds, colors and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission," the proclamation states. "It is a story of Americans from every corner of our nation who left the warmth of family to serve the country they loved. It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm's way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to preserve the liberties we hold dear." 

More than 58,000 Americans were killed and many thousands more were wounded and injured or determined to be missing. 

The proclamation also states: "In one of the war's most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected — to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example. We must never let this happen again." 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

Nation to Observe Vietnam War Veterans Day > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Story

You can also read my previous post on the Vietnam War via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: The Vietnam War Was Winnable  

Note: Below is a photo of me and a photo of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk: