The Rock Island Arsenal will host the 2023 National Vietnam War Veterans Day 50th Anniversary Commemorative Ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 29. Services will be coordinated by the Vietnam Veterans of America Quad Cities Chapter 299 and other local chapters.
The program includes:
- Welcome & introductions – Matt Tomes, director, Rock Island National Cemetery.
- The National Anthem – Jim Bell, Vietnam Veterans of America 299.
- Welcome address – Matt Tomes.
- Keynote speaker – Rob Sebastian, Combat Veteran of Vietnam War.
- Wreath laying – Matt Tomes and Rob Sebastian.
- Rifle salute – Vietnam Veterans of America chapters 776 and 299.
- Taps – Tracy Hepner, Moline American Legion Post 246.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is a U.S. holiday observed annually on March 29. It honors all U.S. veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. armed forces from Nov. 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, regardless of location.
The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration was authorized by Congress, established under the Secretary of Defense, and launched by President Barack Obama in 2012 to thank and honor our nation’s Vietnam Veterans and their families for service and sacrifice.
Mr. Obama officially inaugurated the commemoration at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2012. By presidential proclamation, the Vietnam War Commemoration will continue through Veterans Day, November 11, 2025. Our nation will commemorate this 50th anniversary over a 13-year period.
On March 28, 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017. It recognizes March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. The act also includes that day among those days on which the U.S. flag should especially be displayed.
U.S. involvement in Vietnam began slowly with an initial deployment of advisors in the early 1950s, grew incrementally through the early 1960s and expanded with the deployment of full combat units in July 1965, according to a Rock Island Arsenal news release. The last U.S. personnel were evacuated from Vietnam in April 1975.
Congress outlined a total of five objectives for the U.S. Vietnam War Commemoration, with the primary objective being to thank and honor Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the Nation, with distinct recognition of former prisoners of war and families of those still listed as missing in action.
The four remaining objectives highlight the service of our Armed Forces and support organizations during the war; pay tribute to wartime contributions at home by American citizens; highlight technology, science and medical advances made during the war; and recognize contributions by our allies. By Presidential proclamation, The U.S. Vietnam War Commemoration will continue through Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2025.
In part, the 2022 presidential proclamation, signed by President Joe Biden, stated, “In 2012, our nation launched a 13-year long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War to ensure that every veteran, family, caregiver, and survivor impacted by the difficult years in Vietnam feels our nation’s gratitude for their sacrifice.
“Every service member of the Vietnam generation should know that their sacrifices mattered and that their service made a difference. The names etched in The Wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial remind us of our loved ones who gave their all and never came home. To the families, caregivers, and survivors of the more than 58,000 service members whose names are memorialized in the black granite, we pledge to never forget the eternal sacrifice of your loved ones and what you have sacrificed for the nation.”
