GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Goodfellow and San Angelo celebrated Vietnam Veterans Day with two pinning ceremonies at the base Commissary and at Angelo State University’s LeGrand Alumni Center on March 29.
In 2008 the National Defense Authorization Act authorized the Secretary of Defense to conduct a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. This launched a nation-wide effort to recognize family members and veterans. Each ceremony would present lapel pins to surviving family members and living Vietnam veterans. In continuation of this celebration, President Trump signed a proclamation in 2017 declaring March 29th the National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
At the signing in 2017, President Trump said, “To ensure the sacrifices of the 9 million heroes who served during this difficult chapter of our country's history are remembered for generations to come, I signed into law the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017, designating March 29 of each year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. Throughout this Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, and every March 29 thereafter, we will honor all those who answered our Nation's call to duty. We vow to never again confuse personal disapproval of war with prejudice against those who honorably wear the uniform of our Armed Forces. With conviction, our Nation pledges our enduring respect, our continuing care, and our everlasting commitment to all Vietnam veterans."
The Air Force Exchange Service in partnership with the Defense Commissary Agency hosted a pinning ceremony at the Commissary Thursday, March 29.
Col. Jason Beck, 17th Mission Support Group commander, was the guest speaker for the event.
“The Vietnam War Commemoration is dedicated to those who served in and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in Southeast Asia. It is also dedicated to each and every Vietnam Veteran and their family members here today. We hold this commemoration to come full circle and help heal the wounds and heartache caused by the Vietnam War,” said Beck.
Col. Beck was assisted by Aryn Lockhart, 17th Training Wing Public Affairs community engagement chief and Vietnamese adoptee, for the pinning ceremony as he individually thanked and rendered a salute to the veterans in attendance.
Across town at 6:00 p.m., another ceremony took place hosted by the EC-47 History Site at the LeGrand Alumni center. The EC-47 History Site organization has been a registered commemorative partner since June 2015. They have conducted over 30 commemoration ceremonies to recognize and honor Vietnam War veterans and their families.
The evening began with a launching of balloons. Each colored balloon represented different categories of veterans. The red balloons represented those who died in the war, the blue represented those who served, and the white represented the still missing prisoners of war.
With over 100 in attendance, the ceremony included a San Angelo proclamation in support of Vietnam veterans signed by Mayor Brenda Gunter. This proclamation echoed President Trump’s proclamation about the objectives to go forward through the commemoration process.
Pins were presented to Gold Star family members whose immediate family member died during the Vietnam War and whose name is on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. The next category honored was the Blue Star family members. They are surviving family members of a Vietnam veteran who served during the war, but have since died.
Lockhart was the keynote speaker and shared her story of being a Vietnamese adoptee and member of Operation Babylift. Operation Babylift was the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries which occurred April 4-26, 1975 in the final days before the end of the war.
The ceremony concluded with the final pinning of the living Vietnam veterans. Lockhart was joined by various San Angelo civic leaders and the 17th Training Wing Historian John Garrett.
Tom Nurre, the commemoration program coordinator, expressed his thoughts about the event, “It’s obvious that after 50 years it’s fitting that the nation has established a national Vietnam Veterans Day set aside for paying tribute to the Vietnam veterans and their families. The ceremony was a class act. To hear the veterans singing their favorite songs, receiving their pins, congratulating all of their fellow veterans was quite heartwarming to me.”