Wreaths were presented, dignitaries spoke and flags were flown. Yet Thursday’s ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was all about the veterans — the 58,267 whose names are on the wall, and the comrades who came to honor them.
“This day means everything to me,” said John G. Smith, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. “I can be with my brothers today.”
J. Holley Watts of the Red Cross, who served in Vietnam, said she knows a lot of people on the wall, and coming to the memorial on Veterans Day is her way of honoring them.
Thursday’s ceremony also offered an outlet for Vietnam veterans still finding their voice.
“Veteran’s Day has become more important to me now than when I was younger,” said Gene Schaefer, a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 11th Armored Calvary Regiment. “When I first came home from war, I didn’t want to talk about it. But now I can.”
Among Thursday’s speakers was Australian Air Vice-Marshal Kym Osley, head of the Australian Defense Staff in Washington. Osley, who spoke on behalf of Australia’s Vietnam veterans, said Australia is donating $3 million for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memorial education center.
