CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Remembering our Vietnam Veterans

The Islands' Sounder - 4/14/2021

It was a war that lasted 19 years and saw an unprecedented number of injuries, 300% more than World War II, and the loss of nearly 60,000 lives. The brave men and women who fought in America's Vietnam War were remembered in a solemn ceremony, March 29, at American Legion Post 93.

The date commemorates the day hostilities ended, April 30, 1975. In 2012, President Barack Obama designated March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day, a day to remember those who served in one of America's most tragic wars.

On March 28, 2017 President Donald Trump signed the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Day, a day American Legion Post 93 Commander Patricia Ayers would like to see made into a bank holiday.

Ayers, the first woman commander of the Orcas Island post, oversaw a dozen-plus attendees at a ceremony that included a 21-gun salute and the poignant "Taps" played by a lone bugler.

Ayers, the Post's first female commander would like to see March 29 become a national holiday.

"So many of our Vietnam Veterans didn't get the recognition they deserved nor the warm welcome they needed when they came home. Remembering their sacrifice is long over-due," Ayers said, adding that the pandemic thwarted last year's plans.

"We want to make this an annual event," she said, "and I hope we have more attendees next year."

National Vietnam War Veterans Day is now a U.S. holiday observed annually on March 29. It recognizes U.S. veterans who served in the US military during the Vietnam War, a war that included the Laotian Civil War and the Cambodian Civil War.