you-tube: Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans
Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day Los Angeles - Saturday, March 31, 2012

President Obama Proclamation - national Day of Tribute to Viet Nam veterans

Vietnam Veteran tribute
Thanks to Democratic Underground

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Vietnam veterans’ homecoming overdue

March 31, 2012
from democratic underground

On Thursday, President Barack Obama declared March 29, 2012, as Vietnam Veterans Day. In his proclamation, he reframed the difficult and divisive war in terms that many will understand: “The Vietnam War… is a story of Americans from every corner of our nation who left the warmth of family to serve the country they loved. It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm’s way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to preserve the liberties we hold dear.”

He also took note what he called “one of the war’s most profound tragedies”: “Many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected – to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example. We must never let this happen again. Today, we reaffirm one of our most fundamental obligations: to show all who have worn the uniform of the United States the respect and dignity they deserve, and to honor their sacrifice by serving them as well as they served us.”

Those words should echo as the country tackles the issues also facing veterans returning home from our current wars – the one that just ended in Iraq and the one continuing in Afghanistan. Those men and women are returning home with daunting physical and emotional needs, and challenges to finding employment.

We took far too long to begin honoring the service and addressing the needs of Vietnam vets. We should not make that mistake again with another generation.

Still, it’s never too late to rectify an error. The Vietnam vets more than deserve the “welcome home” which (March 31) Saturday’s festivities offer – even if it is tardy by some 40 years.

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Pres Obama proclaims national day of tribute to Vietnam vets

Obama  declares day of tribute
Neither Democrat nor Republican
Some Things We All Should Agree On
SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT ON THIS!

Presidential Proclamation -- Vietnam Veterans Day

For Immediate Release

Vietnam Veterans Day

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On January 12, 1962, United States Army pilots lifted more than 1,000 South Vietnamese service members over jungle and underbrush to capture a National Liberation Front stronghold near Saigon. Operation Chopper marked America's first combat mission against the Viet Cong, and the beginning of one of our longest and most challenging wars. Through more than a decade of conflict that tested the fabric of our Nation, the service of our men and women in uniform stood true. Fifty years after that fateful mission, we honor the more than 3 million Americans who served, we pay tribute to those we have laid to rest, and we reaffirm our dedication to showing a generation of veterans the respect and support of a grateful Nation.

The Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds, colors, and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission. It is a story of Americans from every corner of our Nation who left the warmth of family to serve the country they loved. It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm's way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to preserve the liberties we hold dear. From Ia Drang to Hue, they won every major battle of the war and upheld the highest traditions of our Armed Forces.

Eleven years of combat left their imprint on a generation. Thousands returned home bearing shrapnel and scars; still more were burdened by the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, of Agent Orange, of memories that would never fade. More than 58,000 laid down their lives in service to our Nation. Now and forever, their names are etched into two faces of black granite, a lasting memorial to those who bore conflict's greatest cost.

Our veterans answered our country's call and served with honor, and on March 29, 1973, the last of our troops left Vietnam. Yet, in one of the war's most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected -- to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example. We must never let this happen again. Today, we reaffirm one of our most fundamental obligations: to show all who have worn the uniform of the United States the respect and dignity they deserve, and to honor their sacrifice by serving them as well as they served us. Half a century after those helicopters swept off the ground and into the annals of history, we pay tribute to the fallen, the missing, the wounded, the millions who served, and the millions more who awaited their return. Our Nation stands stronger for their service, and on Vietnam Veterans Day, we honor their proud legacy with our deepest gratitude.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 29, 2012, as Vietnam Veterans Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the Vietnam War.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA


During the Vietnam war, President Johnson pledged, "Our purpose in Vietnam is to prevent the
success of aggression. It is not conquest, it is not empire, it is not foreign bases, it is not domination.
It is, simply put, just to prevent the forceful conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam."


People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because
rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

Winston Churchill





LEST WE FORGET

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(But not at the price of forgetting those who served)

Robert Shepherd
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no veteran left behind