A crowd of close to 100 braved the rain to honor Vietnam veterans April 1 at Alexandria National Cemetery.
“March 29, 1973, was the day that Hanoi released the last of its acknowledged prisoners of war so it is fitting that March 29 was the choice for our National Vietnam War Veterans Day,” said Jerry Krueger, Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 609 in Alexandria during an April 1 ceremony honoring the veterans at Alexandria National Cemetery. “Our national commemoration honors everyone who served on active duty in the U.S. armed forces from Nov. 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, with no distinction being made between veterans who served in the country of Vietnam or who were stationed elsewhere. All were called to serve and all were seen in the same way by a country that could not separate the war from the warrior.”
Despite the sometimes heavy rain, close to 100 people turned out to honor the city’s Vietnam veterans. Krueger and VFW Post 609 were joined by representatives from American Legion Posts 1775 and 24, both in Alexandria, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration in hosting a wreath laying ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans as well as recognizing those who died in service to their nation.
“The names of our service members lost in that battle are listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, known as The Wall, in Washington DC,” Krueger said. “So today we gather to honor those from the community of Alexandria who, in President Abraham Lincoln’s words ‘gave their last full measure of devotion’ and are counted among the 58,280 whose names are engraved in the polished granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.”
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. Only U.S. embassy personnel and support staff remained in South Vietnam until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
The proclamation 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."
Cadets from the Challenger One Squadron Capital Wing Civil Air Patrol placed a wreath at the VFW Post 609 flagpole in the cemetery honoring the veterans. Lt. Col Colleen Wallace, Commander of American Legion Post 1775, rang a bell as the 68 names of Alexandria’s Vietnam War fallen were read aloud.
CAP Cadet Zoey Carlos opened the ceremony with the National Anthem with American Legion Post 24 member and Vietnam War veteran Donna Reuss singing God Bless America. Bugler Ryan Welch concluded the ceremony with the playing of Taps.
“We are here to honor their collective sacrifice,” Krueger said. “These veterans deserve our profound respect.”