Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Doug Collins, Veterans Affairs secretary, were joined by dozens of former service members — the majority of them having served during the Vietnam War — Gold Star family members, and others at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington today for a ceremony in recognition of National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
Signed into law by President Donald J. Trump during his first administration in 2017 and taking place every March 29 to commemorate when the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam in 1973, National Vietnam War Veterans Day is a national observance that recognizes veterans who served during the war.
During his remarks, Hegseth stressed the importance of not only never forgetting the roughly 58,000 men who lost their lives during the conflict — as well as the more than 1,500 who are still missing in action — but to also always remember the sacrifices they made.
"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.
He added that it's important to remember the context of the time, and that the Americans who fought in Vietnam were effectively Cold War-era warriors who were meant to try and stymie the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.
Unfortunately, Hegseth said, U.S. politics, politicians and the inability for a sizable segment of the American public to separate service members from the war itself led to many of them feeling unappreciated upon their return stateside.
Because of that, Hegseth continued, it was that generation of Vietnam War veterans that worked to make sure no future returning veterans would have to endure the same treatment.
"And I can say as a veteran of [the wars in] Iraq and Afghanistan … it is those warriors who looked to us, that generation — Vietnam, specifically — that looked at us and said, 'Welcome home,'" Hegseth said.
He spoke about how the current generation of veterans — primarily veterans of the global war on terrorism — will be at the ready to welcome back veterans currently serving in armed conflict, like those serving in Operation Epic Fury, thanks to the precedent set by the generation of Vietnam War vets.
"There will be debates all across the nation, but what we know is that we will have the backs of those warfighters. We will ensure that they are celebrated, that their sacrifice is honored, [and] that every part of our society recognizes that they are the real 1% — the special Americans, willing to raise their right hand and commit to something greater than themselves," Hegseth said.
During his remarks, Collins credited Vietnam War-era veterans with helping to bolster and strengthen the VA from an almost completely ineffective bureaucracy 50 years ago to the more robust and effectual institution it is today.
"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 got mad, who could have got 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," he told the veterans in the crowd.
The ceremony concluded with Hegseth, Collins and other special guests laying wreaths at the memorial wall's base.
Those in attendance said they appreciated the words spoken by both secretaries.
"I think it's important to recognize all veterans of Vietnam … because, for so long, we kept it to ourselves and didn't tell anybody. Both secretaries [explained] that quite well today," John Riling III, who served a tour in Vietnam as an Army military policeman from 1970 to 1971, and who now serves as the vice president of Vietnam Veterans of America, said following the ceremony.
"I thought [the remarks touched] the Vietnam [War] generation; which is not just those that served in Vietnam, but all over the world at that time," he added.