“Kiss me goodbye and write me while I’m gone. Goodbye my sweetheart. Hello Vietnam.” — Johnny Wright, ( from the song, “Hello Vietnam,” 1965)
March 29 is Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day. It is a day to honor the service and sacrifice of those men and women who served in our Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. According to the Department of Defense, America’s involvement ended on this date. The war itself was finally concluded with the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
National Commander Daniel Seehafer of the American Legion said in the March edition of the Legion’s periodical, “On this day, we say ‘welcome home’ to the men and women who were at times jeered and disrespected because they answered their nation’s call.” He reminds us that more than 3 million Americans served in and around Vietnam. 58,318 died during the war, and are memorialized on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.
A replica of the wall is now permanently located at Layton Common Park in Layton. It is there that a remembrance ceremony will be held on March 29, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm. Among the featured speakers are Dennis Howland, USMC, Vietnam veteran, and state president of the Vietnam Veterans of America; Nancy Espinosa, Army veteran, and national commander of the Disabled American Veterans; Mayor Joy Petro of Layton; and Sterling Poulson, USAF and Vietnam veteran, TV personality and respected champion of the veteran community.
We American service members were not welcomed home when we returned from the war. Many who served with us died — from ailments associated with Agent Orange, PTSD, and wounds incurred during the war — without the welcome they deserved. It is not too late, however, to welcome those Vietnam veterans who are still alive. America should never forget the Vietnam vet.
Luciano S. Martinez, Murray
