Overdue thanks; Vietnam veterans to be honored during July 4th Parade
Austin Daily News
Jenae Hackensmith
Friday, July 3, 2015
This year marks the 40th anniversary since the fall of Saigon in 1975 and the official end of the Vietnam War, and the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce is taking the chance to acknowledge and thank veterans of the war during the Freedom Fest Parade.
This year, the grand marshals will be the area Vietnam veterans, who will be recognized for a war they fought in over 40 years ago and that many received little recognition for at the time.
“It was a different time in our country,” Austin Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sandy Forstner said. “And we see this as an opportunity to do that, to recognize them the way they should have been many years ago.”
Many in the community see it as an overdue thank-you.
“We never got a pat on the back for a good job done,” Vietnam veteran Warren Smith said. “It was just forgotten about for the last 50 years.”
Many veterans from the Vietnam War have already passed away, and Smith, who fought in the war around 1967, said it’s time to honor the remaining veterans.
“They drafted us, they sent us there, and they probably should have had a recognition for us 50 years ago when this happened,” he said. “But they didn’t, so I think it’s probably about time.”
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