Today, March 29, is a day
like any other day for most of us.
But today is an actual holiday, but you would never know it if you look at your desk calendar, because it probably is not listed on there.
And this holiday is eerily tied into the conflict that is going on in Europe right now, or it will be if we go against our gut and get further involved in the Ukraine.
We should think about today’s holiday, remember what the repercussions are when we step into someone else’s war, and hold back as much as we can from getting fully involved, even if we are being goaded into doing so.
It is not worth it to set off World War III for the sake of saving the Ukraine.
So what is today’s holiday that few people know about?
Today is National Vietnam War Veterans Day, a holiday that was created to honor those who served during what was perhaps this country’s most hated and reviled war.
The Vietnam War lasted in total about 20 years, with our main participation being from about 1963 to 1973.
It was a battle between communist forces in North Vietnam and non-communist forces in South Vietnam, and once France gave up its governance of the area in the early 1950s, we stepped in, assuming financial and military support for South Vietnam.
Other countries got involved, and the war escalated for the entirety of the 1960s and into the early 1970s, with thousands of U.S. soldiers serving their country there in a war that we really could not win.
This was not a war where everyone on the home front did what they could to support our participation in; it was the direct reverse of that, with the 1960s and Baby Boomers being staunch opponents of the war and our participation in it.
During the years of this war, our country lost an estimated 58,000 soldiers, and many more were injured, some severely.
But during the years of the war, those who fought on the front lines were considered to be cowards by many in the U.S. population, and unlike in other ware, they generally came home with little fanfare and a lot of hate from their fellow citizens.
It has taken decades to try to fix all of that and make it right, make these veterans as heralded as veterans of other wars, but many Vietnam vets still bear the stigma of what they did, which was to serve their country on the front lines, which should never have been considered anything but them doing their patriotic duty, but it was frowned upon by many in this country.
One of the things that needed to be done was that the perception of those serving in Vietnam needed to change, and it has over time, and thus, an element of this was that a day needed to be set up where Vietnam vets were heralded for their work, just like other veterans were during other conflicts the U.S. has participated in over the generations.
On Mar. 28, 2017, the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act was signed. This act officially recognizes March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
The day isn’t publicized as much as other holidays—including the greater and all encompassing Veterans Day—but to those who served in Vietnam, it is an incredibly important day, because it gives credence to their duty in that conflict, a duty that was snubbed by the American public for decades.
Tributes and special events are held all day to honor these veterans, some as simple as giving out lapel pins to those who served in the war to larger events not only celebrating these veterans but also those who never made it home.
The other day, there was a ceremony highlighting the groundbreaking of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s groundbreaking, which took place 40 years ago, which stands as a permanent reminder of the valor and dignity displayed by those who fought in Vietnam.
And have we learned anything since the Vietnam War?
We should have learned that we should stay out of others’ conflicts, but it is only several months ago that our participation in Afghanistan ended, another lost war where thousands of Americans perished.
And now we have this conflict between Russia and the Ukraine, where Russia is not only trying to stake its claim in the Ukraine, but it is trying to obliterate it in the process.
The Ukrainian president is trying to goad us into that conflict, demanding more and more weapons to fight off the Russians, but also to patrol its airspace and to shoot down Russian planes, which would put us directly in the center of this war.
Thus far, we have done everything we can to help the Ukrainians except for patrolling the air space, and the Ukrainians keep on demanding more and more and more.
Let’s remember what happened a generation ago in Vietnam … let’s help the Ukrainians in every way possible, but let’s not step into a war that has nothing to do with us.
We should learn from what happened in Vietnam, and that is why although most people do not even know it exists, today’s National Vietnam War Veterans Day is perhaps one of the most important holidays on the calendar, because with what is currently happening in Eastern Europe, it forces us to remember what happened in Southeast Asia a generation ago.
Do we want to repeat the mistakes that we made then, the most prominent being getting involved in a war that we should have stayed away from to begin with?
Hopefully, lessons were learned from our participation in that conflict, and the one in Afghanistan, but time will tell if it is truly “lessons learned” or “back to school” in our handling of this newest war that we have to make major and serious decisions on.
But today is an actual holiday, but you would never know it if you look at your desk calendar, because it probably is not listed on there.
And this holiday is eerily tied into the conflict that is going on in Europe right now, or it will be if we go against our gut and get further involved in the Ukraine.
We should think about today’s holiday, remember what the repercussions are when we step into someone else’s war, and hold back as much as we can from getting fully involved, even if we are being goaded into doing so.
It is not worth it to set off World War III for the sake of saving the Ukraine.
So what is today’s holiday that few people know about?
Today is National Vietnam War Veterans Day, a holiday that was created to honor those who served during what was perhaps this country’s most hated and reviled war.
The Vietnam War lasted in total about 20 years, with our main participation being from about 1963 to 1973.
It was a battle between communist forces in North Vietnam and non-communist forces in South Vietnam, and once France gave up its governance of the area in the early 1950s, we stepped in, assuming financial and military support for South Vietnam.
Other countries got involved, and the war escalated for the entirety of the 1960s and into the early 1970s, with thousands of U.S. soldiers serving their country there in a war that we really could not win.
This was not a war where everyone on the home front did what they could to support our participation in; it was the direct reverse of that, with the 1960s and Baby Boomers being staunch opponents of the war and our participation in it.
During the years of this war, our country lost an estimated 58,000 soldiers, and many more were injured, some severely.
But during the years of the war, those who fought on the front lines were considered to be cowards by many in the U.S. population, and unlike in other ware, they generally came home with little fanfare and a lot of hate from their fellow citizens.
It has taken decades to try to fix all of that and make it right, make these veterans as heralded as veterans of other wars, but many Vietnam vets still bear the stigma of what they did, which was to serve their country on the front lines, which should never have been considered anything but them doing their patriotic duty, but it was frowned upon by many in this country.
One of the things that needed to be done was that the perception of those serving in Vietnam needed to change, and it has over time, and thus, an element of this was that a day needed to be set up where Vietnam vets were heralded for their work, just like other veterans were during other conflicts the U.S. has participated in over the generations.
On Mar. 28, 2017, the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act was signed. This act officially recognizes March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
The day isn’t publicized as much as other holidays—including the greater and all encompassing Veterans Day—but to those who served in Vietnam, it is an incredibly important day, because it gives credence to their duty in that conflict, a duty that was snubbed by the American public for decades.
Tributes and special events are held all day to honor these veterans, some as simple as giving out lapel pins to those who served in the war to larger events not only celebrating these veterans but also those who never made it home.
The other day, there was a ceremony highlighting the groundbreaking of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s groundbreaking, which took place 40 years ago, which stands as a permanent reminder of the valor and dignity displayed by those who fought in Vietnam.
And have we learned anything since the Vietnam War?
We should have learned that we should stay out of others’ conflicts, but it is only several months ago that our participation in Afghanistan ended, another lost war where thousands of Americans perished.
And now we have this conflict between Russia and the Ukraine, where Russia is not only trying to stake its claim in the Ukraine, but it is trying to obliterate it in the process.
The Ukrainian president is trying to goad us into that conflict, demanding more and more weapons to fight off the Russians, but also to patrol its airspace and to shoot down Russian planes, which would put us directly in the center of this war.
Thus far, we have done everything we can to help the Ukrainians except for patrolling the air space, and the Ukrainians keep on demanding more and more and more.
Let’s remember what happened a generation ago in Vietnam … let’s help the Ukrainians in every way possible, but let’s not step into a war that has nothing to do with us.
We should learn from what happened in Vietnam, and that is why although most people do not even know it exists, today’s National Vietnam War Veterans Day is perhaps one of the most important holidays on the calendar, because with what is currently happening in Eastern Europe, it forces us to remember what happened in Southeast Asia a generation ago.
Do we want to repeat the mistakes that we made then, the most prominent being getting involved in a war that we should have stayed away from to begin with?
Hopefully, lessons were learned from our participation in that conflict, and the one in Afghanistan, but time will tell if it is truly “lessons learned” or “back to school” in our handling of this newest war that we have to make major and serious decisions on.
Today's National Vietnam War Veterans Day forces us to not make the mistakes we made in the conflict, and also honors those who simply did their duty as Americans.
Let's never forget their sacrifice.
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