National Vietnam War Veterans Day

It was noted by a proclamation in 2012 and by an Act signed by the president in 2017. March 29 was chosen as National Vietnam War Veterans Day because on March 29, 1973, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam was disbanded, and the last U.S. combat troops left the Republic of Vietnam.

Please don’t tell me we lost the war or it wasn’t worth it. You would be deprecating those who sacrificed, and the sacrifice was great.

More than 58,000 young men and women lost their lives there. This includes three from my little town in Ohio called Mantua, including a friend known to all as Bobby. In addition, the physically wounded totaled more than 300,000 in Vietnam, with another 75,000 left severely disabled from their physical wounds.

There are also the emotional scars of war. We call it PTSD today. The numbers aren’t precisely known, but the range is 15% of those serving to as many as 30% have gone through the tortuous journey of PTSD at some point. When you consider 2.7 million served, well, do the math.

This day was created in 2017 “to give Americans the opportunity to say ‘Welcome Home’ to a group of veterans who never got the reception they deserved when they returned to the United States.”