30-03-2025
‘It was a pleasure to serve': 13th annual Vietnam Veterans Day held in Huntsville
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — On Saturday, Vietnam veterans were honored at the Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial.
March 29 is designated as National Vietnam War Veterans Day, a day where Americans unite to honor Vietnam Veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice. It was the same day that in 1973, the US Military Assistance Command Vietnam was disestablished and the last combat troops departed the country.
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The day is intended to honor and recognize those who served in the war. Many of whom did not receive a proper welcome home.
'It was a pleasure to serve, I served with a lot of great guys,' Vietnam veteran Charlie Miller said. 'I came back to the States and didn't get the welcome that we thought we should've had but now it's different, our community accepts us for what we did.'
Miller spent 30 years in the Army, including 1970-1971 in Vietnam.
'I have 650 members in our chapter and all of those guys fought in Vietnam and they came back and like I said they didn't get the recognition that they deserve,' Miller said. 'Today with our community, the community of Huntsville we getting the recognition that we deserve.'
Fellow Vietnam veteran James Henderson spent 26 years in the Army. He said his time in Vietnam where he was the commander of a company with around 200 soldiers was the highlight of his career.
'What a distinction to be trusted to command soldiers in combat and I still think about what a responsibility that was,' Henderson said. 'I did the best I could and took care of the mission and took care of the troops.'
Henderson said while he feels that Vietnam troops did not receive the welcome they deserved, he does believe progress has been made since they came home.
'I think our country's done a great job of making up for it so to speak by passing into law Vietnam Veterans Day,' Henderson said. 'We are grateful for that, we are grateful for the opportunity to be here today.'
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