Vietnam

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VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL: DEDICATED 11/13/82 Thank you to all our Vietnam Veterans. Everyone here at VetFriends.com has taken a moment to reflect and express our deepest respect and gratitude to the Courage, Bravery and Patriotism of all of our Vietnam Veterans, both living and deceased, along with all of our U.S. Veterans & Military. Today marks the anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Dedication.  We salute you.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial   From August 5, 1964 through March 28, 1973, many of you, our Veteran brothers and sisters were among the 8,744,000 active duty U.S. military personnel who proudly served our Nation during the war in Vietnam, with 2,594,000 of you serving within the borders of South Vietnam, some deployed as early as 1954 and leaving as late as 1975. The Vietnam Era also includes all Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam as early as 1955.  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was declared a National Memorial and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1982 in Washington D.C. On this day, thousands of Vietnam Veterans marched to the wall for the dedication during a week long salute to all Vietnam Veterans. The Memorial honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were Missing In Action during the War. The Memorial currently consists of three separate parts: the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, the Three Soldiers statue, and the Vietnam Women's Memorial. Constitution Gardens, the main part of the memorial was completed in 1982 and is adjacent to the National Mall. The Memorial is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, and receives around 3 million visitors each year. The Memorial Wall was designed by American architect Maya Lin.

Background: -April 27, 1979 – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF), was incorporated as a non-profit organization to establish a memorial to Veterans of the Vietnam War. -July 1, 1980 – Congress authorizes 3 acres near the Lincoln Memorial to be the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The memorial is to be managed by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. -November 13, 1982 – Thousands of Vietnam Veterans march to Washington, D.C. for the Memorial dedication.   Inscribed on the walls with the Optima typeface are the names of servicemen who were either confirmed to be KIA (Killed in Action) or remained classified as MIA (Missing in Action) when the walls were constructed in 1982. They are listed in chronological order, starting at the apex on panel 1E in 1959 (although it was later discovered that the first casualties were military advisers who were killed by artillery fire in 1957), moving day by day to the end of the eastern wall at panel 70E, which ends on May 25, 1968, starting again at panel 70W at the end of the western wall which completes the list for May 25, 1968, and returning to the apex at panel 1W in 1975. Symbolically, this is described as a "wound that is closed and healing." The wall listed 57,939 names when it was dedicated in 1982; as of May 2018, there are 58,320 names, including 8 women. In 1984, the bronze Three Servicemen statue (or Three Soldiers) was unveiled, created by Frederick Hart. The statue depicts the 3 Vietnam service brothers looking on in tribute at the names of their fallen comrades. A Vietnam Women's memorial depicts 2 uniformed women with a wounded soldier, and the In Memory Memorial Plaque honors Veterans who died after the war as a result of injuries suffered in Vietnam, but who fall outside Department of Defense guidelines. Thank You to our Vietnam Veterans and WELCOME HOME.

Vietnam Veteran Tribute Photos:

1968 - Army - 560th LEM and Recover.

Navy - 1973 - Moving up river, the whole outfit! Tran Phan River, Southern delta.

2002 - Air Force - Veterans Day - 20th Anniversary of the Wall, A Prayer Remembrance Of Those We Left Behind

2000 - Army - Vietnam Memorial

30th Anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., Veterans Day November 11, 2012. Saying Hello to a Fallen Squadron mate, Michael "The Delta Mauler" Shafernocker.

Thank you to all our U.S. Veterans, active and reserve military. Your service, sacrifice, honor and courage has protected the American people and has preserved our Freedom. We salute you.

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Vietnam Veteran Tribute Photos:

Grandpa telling the kids about Vietnam.

1969 - Army - Band of Brothers

Marines at the Wall

1967 - Air Force, F-4 Phantom, 12TRS

1966 - Navy - Rig Crew 2

Welcome Home to All our Vietnam Veterans. Thank you for your Service to our Country.

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10 movies that defined the Vietnam War on the big screen

The Vietnam War cast a long shadow across one of the most fertile periods of American filmmaking, and has led filmmakers for the half-century since to reckon with its complicated legacy.

https://apnews.com/article/vietnam-war-movies-e233b1954a263d571ec73c671b8d1eab?

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The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago, but the battle with Agent Orange continues

DA NANG, Vietnam (AP) — The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, when the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces. But millions of people still face daily battles with its chemical legacy.

https://apnews.com/article/vietnam-war-anniversary-agent-orange-0829caefe48cc11fb88ab27982da922b?

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?? 1 for the road: 50 years since Saigon fell

North Vietnamese troops enter Saigon on tanks and trucks, ending the Vietnam War. Photo: Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma/CORBIS/Sygma via Getty Images Today marks 50 years since April 30, 1975 — the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. Vietnam today celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the United States, and the formation of its modern nation, with a military parade and a focus on a peaceful future. Get the latest. Remembering an era: Movies, books, songs and TV shows about the Vietnam War. Photo: David Hume Kennerly. Courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum ? Above: Henry Kissinger tells President Gerald Ford that a platoon of U.S. Marines was stranded on the roof of the U.S. Embassy. "The president, as you can see from this picture, was not pleased with the news," writes David Hume Kennerly, who captured the moment as Ford's official photographer. Kennerly had previously won a Pulitzer for his photography during the war. 55 more photos on one page: "In the Room — The Final Days of Vietnam," by David Hume Kennerly. Go deeper: "Inside the Final Days of the Vietnam War," by David Hume Kennerly.

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The First Forever War

The Vietnam War Is Still Killing People, 50 Years Later

https://theintercept.com/2025/04/30/vietnam-war-anniversary-landmines-bombs/?