Posted on 03/29/2024 9:20:14 AM PDT by Retain Mike
A few notes from the many articles.
Commemorative events like wreath-laying ceremonies, speeches, and luncheons are held to mark the occasion at venues that include the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, war veteran medical facilities, and military cemeteries.
ALLEGHANY COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - National Vietnam War Veterans’ Day is March 29. It’s been celebrated every year since 2017, when the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act was signed into law. WDBJ7 unpacks the importance of honoring those vets and how our hometowns are supporting them.
Wesley Womelsdorf is a Vietnam veteran who said the war was a significant time in his life.
Womelsdorf said having a nationally recognized day honoring those who served in the Vietnam war is special because there was a time when those who fought in the war were not welcomed back with open arms.
(MONUMENT, Colo.) — A special day of fly fishing at Monument Lake is planned for National Vietnam War Veterans Day on Friday, March 29, to honor those who served in the Vietnam War as well as their families.
Project Healing Waters is a nonprofit organization that uses fly fishing as a healing intervention for active military personnel and veterans. The calming act of fly fishing, along with the restorative power of being in nature and the camaraderie of connecting with peers is used to give a sense of belonging, resilience, and post-traumatic growth.
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - For the seventh consecutive year, the Virginia War Memorial will hold a special Open House In honor of National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
Ceremonies will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, March 29, to honor and recognize the service and sacrifice of Virginia’s Vietnam-era military veterans.
The Open House will feature the “50 Years Beyond: The Vietnam Veteran Experience” exhibit, which will be on display until April 11, 2024.
(Excerpt) Read more at bing.com ...
The Democrat Party secured defeat. Responding to Tet, those that got us into war cut and ran. In 1972 a Democratic Congress refused funding to restore South Vietnamese forces, which had defeated the invading NVA army. Soviet and Chinese support brought NVA victory in 1975.
A few examples from the History Channel show the disinformation campaign waged against Vietnam Veterans. U.S. forces took extraordinary steps to avoid civilian deaths, while the VC and NVA murdered over 36,000 by targeting village leaders, teachers, and medical workers. Two-thirds of Vietnam vets volunteered compared to only one-third of those in WW II. Over 90% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served and 74% would serve again knowing the outcome. Compared to non-veterans, they were more likely to find employment and then earned 18% more.
Ronald Reagan said of them, “ours (mine) was a noble cause. A small country (including ethnic Chinese, Catholic Vietnamese, and others fleeing Communism) newly free from colonial rule sought our help in establishing self-rule and the means of self-defense against a totalitarian neighbor (Tonkinese) bent on conquest.” He said to consider otherwise dishonored the memory of over 58,000 who died in the cause.
War should be regarded as a continuum, and not a dichotomy between violence and diplomacy. Mao Zedong distilled a chapter of Sun Tzu when writing in his red book, “It can therefore be said that politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed”. For eight years we shed our blood in Vietnam and then politicians managed to develop strategies to secure defeat.
Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam by H. R. McMaster
The Day It Became the Longest War
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1996/may/day-it-became-longest-war
Statistics about the Vietnam War
http://vhfcn.org/stat.html
Not to put too fine a point on it, but ARVN troops were no match for the NVA.
They were in 1972, but then landing on their open flank certainly gave the ARVN an advantage. I left my LST in December, so was not with the LANTSHIPRON 9 LSTs that made that landing with ARVN troops that spring.
I’m a little surprised that I didn’t see more in the media about it being Vietnam Veteran’s Day, but then again, I’m not really all that surprised. I kinda got used to being ignored when I came back.
Not much of a response today. We have a Memorial Day, a Veteran's Day, a Vietnam Veteran's Day, but a Pride Month. Not much left of our republic.
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