As 50th anniversary of Saigon's fall nears, Greensburg VFW to honor Vietnam vets
The 50th anniversary of the end the Vietnam War will be commemorated with a ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 33 in Greensburg.
The National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony at the VFW Post 33 at 516 E. Pittsburgh St., will honor the thousands of Westmoreland County residents who served during the Vietnam War that lasted from 1955 to 1975, said David Cackowski, post adjutant. The free ceremony also will recognize families that supported their members of the Armed Forces during those turbulent times, Cackowski said.
The U.S. government designated March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day because it was that date in 1973 when the U.S. Military Assistance Command was disestablished and the day when the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam. The war ended April 30, 1975, when the North Vietnamese army overran Saigon as the South Vietnamese army and its government collapsed. The evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon ended on April 30.
The VFW Post also will remember the 89 Pennsylvanians still listed as missing in action and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. The 97 Westmoreland County residents killed in action during the war also will be recognized.
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Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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