From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
WASHINGTON — Americans will pause on Sunday, March 29, to remember those who served in the Vietnam War. National Vietnam War Veterans Day honors the men and women who persevered through some of the most brutal conditions ever faced by American troops.
The Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, Kent Davis, said 9 million Americans served during that time.
“Some American service members served as ground troops in a combat capacity, some were miles offshore in Navy ships providing gunfire support, some were in the skies over Vietnam, while others provided necessary support roles,” Davis said.
Davis said those in combat experienced “suffocating heat, the drenching rains, an enemy that could come out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly, some of the most intense urban combat in history, and battles for a single hill that could rage for weeks.”
Troops were withdrawn from Vietnam on March 30, 1973, under the Treaty of Paris. But not everyone returned to the states how they left. More than 58,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces were killed and more than 300,000 were wounded.
“This story of our Vietnam servicemembers needs to be told,” Davis said. “This day is another opportunity to say to our Vietnam Veterans what we should have been saying from the beginning: You did your job. You served with honor. You made us proud. You came home and you helped build the America that we love and cherish today.”
Anyone who sees a veteran is encouraged to thank them for their honorable service.