MOUNT ZION, Ill. (WAND)- Vietnam Veterans and others gathered at the Mount Zion Convention Center Saturday afternoon for the annual Vietnam-era Veterans Recognition Day.
The event, which is held the last Saturday of March each year, includes social time, ceremony, speeches and more.
“It’s to honor the Vietnam veteran, but it’s also a program of education,” said committee member Bruce Stephens. “You look around and you get to see what actually happened. You talk to people about what actually happened to them.”
Organizers said the event can have a powerful impact on veterans.
“They’re proud that we do it, because a lot of our Vietnam veterans, when they came home they never did get a parade or a ‘thank you,’ so this helps them out and helps them break out, and then they come out and start talking about it,” said committee member Joe Kelley.
Organizers also honored longtime volunteer David Freyling who died in 2018.
