Vietnam Veterans Day events planned at VFW for March 29

March 29 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. Locally the day will be marked with a ceremony to be held that day at 3 p.m. at the Medford VFW Post 5729. Other area veterans organizations are invited to participate in honoring the 58,220 U.S. Service members killed in the war and all who served in the conflict.

President Donald J. Trump signed the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 on March 28, 2017 to officially recognize March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.The day is an opportunity to recognize and give thanks for all who served during the Vietnam War, including those who were wounded, gave their lives, or went missing. The date marks the day in 1973 that the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam.

This year, there is a special focus on the women who served and died in the Vietnam War.

Over 265,000 American women served in the military during the Vietnam War era, with approximately 11,000 serving in Vietnam itself, mostly as nurses in the Army, Navy and Airforce Nurse Corps. Army Corps nurses first arrived in Vietnam in 1956 and 90% of women who served were volunteer nurses.

Eight American military women were killed in the Vietnam War, and 59 civilian women were killed.

During the Vietnam War, nurses played a vital role in saving lives, with an estimated 98% of wounded soldiers who reached a hospital surviving, demonstrating the effectiveness of their care. Like their male counterparts, many of the nurses in Vietnam developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from their military service, and also like their male counterparts, they have struggled for many years in receiving that recognition.

Some of those in the community today may owe their life to those nurses. Most of the men on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC took their last breath in the presence of these brave women, who stood by their sides to do whatever they could to comfort them.

In 1987, Congress declared the month of March as Women's History Month.

“Today, as we stand here to honor Vietnam Veterans, we specifically recognize these exceptional women and we honor their service as Vietnam Veterans,” said Bill Vach, junior vice commander of the Medford VFW. Vach is a Marine, and proud Vietnam Veteran, having served from July 1968 to July 1969.

“A local woman who was a nurse in Vietnam shared with me that what is most important to her is that she wants everyone to remember the men who came to her alive and said they were OK, knowing they weren’t. All they cared about was telling her to let their families know they were OK. She doesn’t want them to be forgotten,” Vach said.

Vach reminds people that there are an estimated 850,000 living Vietnam Veterans.

“It should not be hard to find one in any community and thank them for their service to our country and for our freedom. Vietnam Veterans deserve to know their service mattered. They deserve to know you care. Our nation owes them the deepest gratitude,” Vach said.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t think about it,” Vach said of the Vietnam Veterans experience, noting that it continues to impact their lives even decades later.

Vach invites community members to Medford VFW Post 5729 on March 29 for the ceremony honoring Vietnam Veterans. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. Special speaker will be Wisconsin VFW Jr Vice Commander Renee Simpson an Army veteran from Post 10911at Camp Douglas.