Welcome Home Vietnam War Veterans

American Legion Post 58 honored Vietnam War veterans with a ceremony at noon on Sunday, March 28. Congressman David Schweikert presented pins/medals to 26 American Legion veterans who represent the thousands of veterans who served during the war.
The event was held on the patio in front of the honor wall at the post so the public could attend. The Vietnam War honorees lined both sides of the honor wall. Following the ceremony, there was food for sale, and DJ Ed played some of the '60s and '70s music from that period as background.
Vietnam Veterans Day commemorates the sacrifices of Vietnam veterans and their families and is part of a national effort to recognize the men and women who were denied a proper welcome upon returning home more than 40 years ago.
The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act, signed into law in 2017, designates March 29 of each year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. On that day in 1973, the last combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam and the last prisoners of war held in North Vietnam arrived on American soil. It is also the date President Nixon chose for the first Vietnam Veterans Day in 1974.

Photos by Chuck Christoph, Post 58 historian