Ceremonies across the country were held on Sunday to honor the nation’s Vietnam War veterans, giving them the “welcome home” many didn’t receive more than five decades ago.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day was a chance to honor more than 2.7 million Americans who served and reflect on the sacrifices of more than 58,000 courageous soldiers who died in Vietnam.
Many of the ceremonies were emotional, including one in Stockton, California. But it was also an opportunity for healing and closure for veterans like Gary Henry, who attended the event with Pamela, his wife of 55 years. As an infantryman, Henry was in the thick of combat in Vietnam.
“Coming home … it was pretty rough,” Henry told CBS News Sacramento. “You can’t help but think of the friends you lost, friends or brothers, and I’m just thankful people are starting to realize what we went through.”
With his wife by his side, Henry could meet and hear stories from other veterans who’ve gone through some of the same experiences.
“I think it’s very healing,” Pamela Henry said. “And it’s good for me to hear stories from other people that he’s not alone. He’s never alone. And sometimes he feels so alone.”
War and Sacrifice
The stories, many locked away for decades, are often traumatic but provide listeners with a sense of the perils of war. Gwyndell Holloway, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, served in Vietnam from 1967-68.
“I remember we were at base camp, and we had rockets coming in,” Holloway recalls. “And I see the first two fall and I turn around and run, and one fell between me and another person, and I got hit in the back of the head, suffering a traumatic brain injury.”
Sunday’s ceremony also honored the 13 fallen servicemembers that have died since the beginning of military operations against Iran.
“You have to just pray for the best,” Holloway said. “For all the veterans and those still serving in the armed services to not have to go to war and put up with the stuff that we had to put up with.”
Some tears flowed when a bagpiper from the American Legion post in Stockton played “Amazing Grace.” But, echoing Pamela Henry’s sentiment, events like this tend to heal old wounds of war-torn soldiers.
“It’s always healing for me to listen to the bagpipes,” Holloway said.
As a bugler played “Taps,” Henry’s mind drifted to so many battle buddies he served with in Vietnam.
“I have to hold my heart when I hear ‘Taps,’” he said. “I lost many friends and … I think back to them.”
While the pain of loss returns for many Vietnam veterans, several that attended the Stockton ceremony said listening and talking to other soldiers who were there has helped them process their grief and sadness.
National Ceremony in D.C.
Over in Washington, D.C., at the Vietnam Memorial Wall, a national ceremony was held to honor those who served in Vietnam with remarks from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins.
Hegseth said it’s important to remember the 58,000 lives lost in the conflict, which stretched for more than a decade, and the 1,500 soldiers still missing in action.
“We will always remember what they gave. Those 58,000, the vast majority [being] volunteers from big cities and small towns, city boys and country boys, shoulder to shoulder, fighting for each other; we will always remember the courage they showed,” Hegseth said.
Collins, meanwhile, said the generation of veterans from Vietnam helped transform the VA, pushed for reforms, and raised the organization’s standard of care throughout the past few decades.
“The Vietnam veteran[s] changed the VA more than any generation [that] has been around. … They stood up and helped shape us into the VA we are today. … The vet centers that I think are the greatest thing in the world, because they help every veteran, no matter where they are, and they say, ‘You have a home here,’” Collins said.
“Thank you to this generation who could have stopped, who could have gotten mad, who could have gotten bitter, and who could have turned away from the very country that had sent it. But thank God you remembered why you raised your right hand, why you went, because when you came home, you looked forward. And it is that forward [thinking] that brings us here today.”
