Amador County – The Amador County American Legion Post 108 held a dedication ceremony Sunday, March 27 to mark the local celebration of Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, which nationally was encouraged by a resolution passed earlier this month in the U.S. Senate.

The resolution was passed March 7 declaring March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, marking the date in 1973 that all United States military troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. The resolution “honors and recognizes the contributions of veterans who served in Vietnam during war and peace.” It also “encourages state and local governments to establish Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day, and the people of the United States to observe such Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

The ceremony in Sutter Creek at the American Legion Post 108 hall included a dedication of the new library and museum of the Post, and its tribute to the family of George Allen Junior, for whom the library and museum was named with a plaque. Veterans Services Officer Floyd Martin said Allen’s family made the American Legion Hall possible.

The U.S. Senate resolution, by Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) said in part that “more than 58,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces lost their lives in Vietnam and more than 300,000 members of the Armed forces were wounded.” It also noted that the “Vietnam War was an extremely divisive issue among the people of the United States and a conflict that caused a generation of veterans to wait too long for the United Sates public to acknowledge and honor the efforts and services of such veterans.”

It also said that “U.S. Armed Forces who served bravely and faithfully for the United States during the Vietnam War were often wrongly criticized for the policy decisions made by four presidential administrations.”

Resolution said that a “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day would be an appropriate way to honor those members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in South Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.