On Veterans Day, thousands of events across the nation honored and thanked all who served in the United States Armed Forces.
One such event was held at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
“I am so proud of my service and the service of those whose names are reflected on the wall,” said Retired U.S. Army Col. Tommy T. Osborne.
Col. Osborne was one of nearly a hundred veterans in attendance at the ceremony, hosted by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
The event recognized the nearly three million American men and women who served in Vietnam during the war. More than 58 thousand did not come back alive and their names are carved on the Vietnam memorial. There are close to two thousand service members still classified as missing in action.
Among the speakers was Tom Burke, the president of Vietnam Veterans of America, a nonprofit that offers services to veterans. Another was Betsy Tanner, who volunteered as a Donut Dolly with the American Red Cross to boost troop morale during the war.
“You men were being drafted into the military with no say so,” said Tanner. “We women were eager to do something for our country and for you draftees.”
Many veterans were grateful for the ceremony and reminisced on their own impact, before the military became all volunteer after the Vietnam War.
“People say that they thank you a lot for your service,” said Col. Osborne. “I would love to see more people raise their right hand and serve.”
“When somebody comes up to me and says, thank you. It means so, so much, you know, because at least I know that somebody’s recognizing what a veteran is,” said Retired U.S. Army Specialist Barry Willever, who was part of the 65th Artillery.
“Coming to the wall is very healing for me,” said Retired U.S. Army Infantryman Ian McCalister, who fought in the 1st Cavalry Division. “I can come and visit them. I can put my hand over their names. I can think back to when we were happy.”
But for one, this was more than just commemorating service members. Chris Jackson has been playing the bagpipes for 28 years at this event. He said it is an emotional experience every year.
“There are less and less of the Vietnam Veterans here. They’re getting older,” said Jackson, who is also an Army veteran. “We used to bring in thousands and thousands of veterans. It’s 28 years later. You know, some of these guys are just not able to come anymore.”
