SAN DIEGO — The USS Midway Museum held a ceremony on Wednesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The ceremony paid tribute to Vietnam War veterans for their service and sacrifice.
The ceremony included four guest speakers, all directly impacted by the war, as well as a wreath laying and ceremonial aircraft flyover.
The ceremony’s guest speakers were:
- Cmdr. Everett Alvarez, USN (ret.) – A former U.S. Navy pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam in 1964 and spent nearly nine years as a prisoner of war
- Col. Jim Collins, USMC (ret.) – A Marine who fought with a recon battalion and was wounded during combat in 1969
- Courtney Herrmann – A South Vietnamese woman who escaped Saigon in 1975 when she was only 8 years old, was evacuated by helicopter to the USS Midway, and later came to the U.S. as a refugee with her family.
- Roy Knight III – His father, a U.S. Air Force pilot, was shot down over Laos and killed in 1967 when Roy was only 11 years old.
In 2017, The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act was signed into law designating every March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
The USS Midway sent out a press release which said, “Unlike other wars where the blood of U.S. servicemembers was spilled, many of those who fought in Vietnam were, for the first time our nation’s history, not welcomed home as the heroes that they were. After five decades, it is time that these extraordinary patriots are recognized for their incredible selfless service and sacrifice in defense of freedom and democracy.
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