RICHMOND, Va. – Veterans of the Vietnam War shared their stories during a ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial on Friday honoring those who served.
The service was a lead-in to the National Vietnam War Veterans Day on Saturday, with this year’s commemoration coming 50 years after the end of the war.
The nearly 20-year war killed over 58,000 Americans, including over 1,400 Virginians whose names are etched into the memorial’s Shrine of Memory.
Forty-five Virginians remain unaccounted for from the war. Their names are written inside the memorial and were read out during the service.
“When you remember, you do two things simultaneously: you remember who came before you, and you experience belonging,” said Ben King with the Virginia War Memorial.
Veteran Johnny Livingston, who served in the Navy, said he came to pay his respects and hopes future generations will be taught about what they went through. Livingston said 74 men he served on a destroyer with died during a training exercise.
“I think they ought to pay more attention to the people that keep this country afloat,” Livingston said.
Some veterans also spoke of the treatment they received from protesters when returning home.
"When I came home from leave with my uniform on, the first thing I would do in the airport was go in the bathroom and change into civilian clothes. Because, that was the period when people spit on you if you had a uniform on," said Charlie Fox, a Navy veteran. "I thought that the experience I had, I'm really, really glad I did it. It was a tremendous experience for me. I wouldn't want to do it again, but it was a good experience, and I think that our generation should be held up much more than it has been in the past for what we did there. We sacrificed a lot."
Johnny Oliverio said he was one of those protestors, but added he protested because he was angry at the poor equipment soldiers were given, which he blamed for the deaths of two friends.
“Many of us were protesting for the boys that we loved and we went to grade school with,” Oliverio said.
The service ended with several veterans being given commemorative pins from active duty members from Fort Gregg-Adams and a “welcome home” that some never got.
The Virginia War Memorial will host an open house on Saturday where people can come learn more about the Vietnam War through their exhibits and videos and get tours from people who served in the war themselves.
Did you or a loved one serve in the Vietnam War? Share your story with the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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