50th Anniversary Commemoration held in the Capital City honoring Vietnam War Veterans

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Hundreds of Vietnam-era veterans packed into the Raising Cane’s Center, along with their families, to be recognized, honored and thanked.

“I was told this the largest gathering of Vietnam veterans in the history of the state,” said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.

Wednesday, March 29, marks 50 years since the last American troop left Vietnam.

“It is nice to be around those who experienced the same thing. You can share and grow,” Vietnam veteran Roland Doucet added.

885 Louisianans did not make it back home.

“That is 885 families out there who are still sacrificing for us because there are spouses, children and parents that are gone,” Governor Edwards continued.

Louisiana is home to more than 85,000 Vietnam-era veterans. That is more than 30% of the total Louisiana veteran population.

“We came home with honor all though the country did not honor us but we honored each other,” Louisiana Secretary of Veteran Affairs Joey Strickland explained.

Although Wednesday was about those whose boots hit the ground in Vietnam, the war impacted entire families, and their sacrifice was recognized as well.

“I simply don’t have the words. You put up with us. You deal with deployments. You put up with our aftermath,” Major General Glenn Curtis continued.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2022 WAFB. All rights reserved.