A two-day long Grand Review of the Armies in Washington DC in May 1865 to celebrate the northern victory in the Civil War.
General Eisenhower, in an open car with a wide grin and outstretched arms receiving a ticker tape parade through Manhattan following American victory in World War II.
General Schwarzkopf leading 8000 American soldiers down Constitution Avenue in Washington to celebrate victory in the 1991 Gulf War.
For two centuries Americans have welcomed home triumphant soldiers and sailors who have followed the flag and fought for the cause of freedom far from home.
But veterans of one of America’s conflicts received no such welcome.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs there are more than six million U.S. Vietnam-era veterans in the United States and around the world. Over 2.5 million Americans served in-country between 1959 and 1975. More than 58,000 of them made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and at least 300,000 were wounded. Thousands of others carried unseen scars and health effects.
Yet when Vietnam veterans returned home during and after the war, they were met with a stony silence from a deeply divided country ambivalent about the war and unsure how to greet those who had fought in it.
Even after the war ended Americans remained uncertain about recognizing its veterans. While previous American wars inspired soaring, gleaming monuments to their veterans, Washington DC’s Vietnam memorial by contrast is sunk deep into the earth like a scar, bearing only the names of 58,318 American servicemembers who gave their lives in southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
Rep. Dan Swanson, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, spoke on the Illinois House floor during a 2023 tribute marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
“Our Vietnam veterans, when they came home, they did not receive a welcome home,” he said. “Their first objective was to get into civilian attire so they blended back in with society. To have worn that uniform at that time was an unpleasant sight to see. They were not treated as the American heroes they truly are and deserved to be recognized by us….We owe them a big thank you and a welcome home.”
Swanson went on to recall a family friend who was killed in December 1969, his name now among those etched upon the wall in Washington DC.
“Remember those names and recognize the names that are on that Vietnam wall because they’re the men and women who sacrificed, who were serving to the left and to the right of the men and women we’re recognizing here today.”
Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer spoke about his father, a veteran who survived a wound suffered in Vietnam.
"He came home with a Purple Heart, but he came home,” Davidsmeyer said. “He grew up in Vietnam. He served and trained alongside the South Vietnamese. He turned 21, celebrated with a warm beer on the roof of an air support base. I want to thank him, all of the friends that I have that served. I want to thank all of them for stepping up and answering the call.”
For decades the nation’s state of mind remained mixed about the Vietnam War and those who fought in it. The country seemed unable or unwilling to separate the brave men and women who followed the flag halfway around the world when their country called, from the policymakers in Washington who continued to send them with no clear plan for victory.
Decades later, America’s views on those who fought in southeast Asia finally began to change, and on March 29 the nation will pause to give them their long-overdue recognition on National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
The day was formally recognized by law in 2017, recurring each year on March 29, the anniversary of the date in 1973 on which the U.S. Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MAC-V) was formally disestablished and the last American combat troops left South Vietnam. It was also the date the North Vietnamese released the last prisoners of war being held in that country. The war itself came to an end two years later.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day marks the service of all who faithfully wore the uniform during the period from the November 1955 establishment of the Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam (MAAG-V), which later evolved into MAC-V, and the seizure and re-capture of the American ship SS Mayaguez off the Cambodia coast in May 1975.
“We make no distinction between veterans who served in-country, in-theater, or who were stationed elsewhere during the Vietnam War period,” states the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. “All were called to serve and none could self-determine where they would serve.”
The Commemoration has five objectives, the first being, “to thank and honor Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the Nation, with distinct recognition of former prisoners of war and families of those still listed as missing in action.”
Following these, the Commemoration recognizes those who served in the war and those who supported them; contributions by American citizens on the home front; the advances in technology, science and medicine during the war; and contributions made by America’s allies.
Throughout Illinois there will be local commemorations of Vietnam Veterans Day over the course of the weekend. Northlake will host a community lunch and ceremony on Friday to honor local veterans. That same day there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood. Veterans and their families will gather on Saturday at the Rock Island National Cemetery for a full ceremony to honor the veterans and their families.
These are just a few of the commemorations being held throughout the nation to give our Vietnam veterans the long-overdue thanks and welcome home which they deserve.
To find out more about Vietnam War Veterans Day, please click here.
General Eisenhower, in an open car with a wide grin and outstretched arms receiving a ticker tape parade through Manhattan following American victory in World War II.
General Schwarzkopf leading 8000 American soldiers down Constitution Avenue in Washington to celebrate victory in the 1991 Gulf War.
For two centuries Americans have welcomed home triumphant soldiers and sailors who have followed the flag and fought for the cause of freedom far from home.
But veterans of one of America’s conflicts received no such welcome.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs there are more than six million U.S. Vietnam-era veterans in the United States and around the world. Over 2.5 million Americans served in-country between 1959 and 1975. More than 58,000 of them made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and at least 300,000 were wounded. Thousands of others carried unseen scars and health effects.
Yet when Vietnam veterans returned home during and after the war, they were met with a stony silence from a deeply divided country ambivalent about the war and unsure how to greet those who had fought in it.
Even after the war ended Americans remained uncertain about recognizing its veterans. While previous American wars inspired soaring, gleaming monuments to their veterans, Washington DC’s Vietnam memorial by contrast is sunk deep into the earth like a scar, bearing only the names of 58,318 American servicemembers who gave their lives in southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
Rep. Dan Swanson, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, spoke on the Illinois House floor during a 2023 tribute marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
“Our Vietnam veterans, when they came home, they did not receive a welcome home,” he said. “Their first objective was to get into civilian attire so they blended back in with society. To have worn that uniform at that time was an unpleasant sight to see. They were not treated as the American heroes they truly are and deserved to be recognized by us….We owe them a big thank you and a welcome home.”
Swanson went on to recall a family friend who was killed in December 1969, his name now among those etched upon the wall in Washington DC.
“Remember those names and recognize the names that are on that Vietnam wall because they’re the men and women who sacrificed, who were serving to the left and to the right of the men and women we’re recognizing here today.”
Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer spoke about his father, a veteran who survived a wound suffered in Vietnam.
"He came home with a Purple Heart, but he came home,” Davidsmeyer said. “He grew up in Vietnam. He served and trained alongside the South Vietnamese. He turned 21, celebrated with a warm beer on the roof of an air support base. I want to thank him, all of the friends that I have that served. I want to thank all of them for stepping up and answering the call.”
For decades the nation’s state of mind remained mixed about the Vietnam War and those who fought in it. The country seemed unable or unwilling to separate the brave men and women who followed the flag halfway around the world when their country called, from the policymakers in Washington who continued to send them with no clear plan for victory.
Decades later, America’s views on those who fought in southeast Asia finally began to change, and on March 29 the nation will pause to give them their long-overdue recognition on National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
The day was formally recognized by law in 2017, recurring each year on March 29, the anniversary of the date in 1973 on which the U.S. Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MAC-V) was formally disestablished and the last American combat troops left South Vietnam. It was also the date the North Vietnamese released the last prisoners of war being held in that country. The war itself came to an end two years later.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day marks the service of all who faithfully wore the uniform during the period from the November 1955 establishment of the Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam (MAAG-V), which later evolved into MAC-V, and the seizure and re-capture of the American ship SS Mayaguez off the Cambodia coast in May 1975.
“We make no distinction between veterans who served in-country, in-theater, or who were stationed elsewhere during the Vietnam War period,” states the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. “All were called to serve and none could self-determine where they would serve.”
The Commemoration has five objectives, the first being, “to thank and honor Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the Nation, with distinct recognition of former prisoners of war and families of those still listed as missing in action.”
Following these, the Commemoration recognizes those who served in the war and those who supported them; contributions by American citizens on the home front; the advances in technology, science and medicine during the war; and contributions made by America’s allies.
Throughout Illinois there will be local commemorations of Vietnam Veterans Day over the course of the weekend. Northlake will host a community lunch and ceremony on Friday to honor local veterans. That same day there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood. Veterans and their families will gather on Saturday at the Rock Island National Cemetery for a full ceremony to honor the veterans and their families.
These are just a few of the commemorations being held throughout the nation to give our Vietnam veterans the long-overdue thanks and welcome home which they deserve.
To find out more about Vietnam War Veterans Day, please click here.