On March 29, Americans will commemorate the service and sacrifices made by nearly 3 million members of the military who served in Vietnam. The 110th Congress incorporated the House of Representatives (R.H.) 4986 in 2007, authorizing the secretary of defense to conduct a program commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. That bill was signed into law as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal year 2008 President George W. Bush on January, May 28, 2008. Finally, it was signed into law by President Donald J. Trump as the National Vietnam War Veterans Day. The bill amended the U.S. flag code to include National Vietnam War Veterans Day as a day on which the flag should be flown.
March 29, 1973 was the day the Last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam. In addition, on or around the same day Hanoi released the last of the Acknowledged prisoners of war. Only U.S. embassy personnel and support staff remained in South Vietnam until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
Congress outlined a total of five (5) objectives for the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, with the primary objective 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 missing in action.
The four remaining objectives highlight the service of our Armed Forces and support organizations during the war; pay tribute to wartime contributions at home by American citizens; highlight technology, science and medical advances made during the war; and recognize contributions by our Allies.
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Although U.S. military advisors had been in South Vietnam since 1955, the proclamation states that Jan. 2, 1962, was the starting point of the war. This is the date when America’s first combat mission, Operation Chopper, was launched. On that day, U.S. Army pilots airlifted more than 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to an area about 12 miles west of Saigon to capture a National Liberation Front stronghold. The NLF, also known as the Viet Cong, were communist fighters who were in South Vietnam.
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.”
Actually some of the returning veterans as they were returning home were spit on by the civilians at the train stations and other arrival areas.