On Saturday, Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse hosted a Vietnam Veterans Congressional Commemoration Ceremony at the Longmont American Legion Post 32.
Twenty-seven local veterans received lapel pins and certificates along with one surviving spouse honoring their service in the war.
Vietnam Veterans returned home from the war and were met with unfair treatment and scrutiny due to differing political opinions of the time.
“Between the years of 1955 and 1975, our country embarked on a particularly difficult chapter. During these two decades, nearly 9 million Americans raised their right hands and committed themselves to serving our nation as members of the United States Armed Forces. These brave individuals were committed to serving our country above all else, fighting in a war they had not started,” Neguse said.
In 2012, President Obama launched a 13-year-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War to ensure that every veteran, family, caregiver, and survivor impacted by the difficult years in Vietnam feels our Nation’s gratitude for their sacrifice. The commemoration began on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012, and will continue through Veterans Day, November 11, 2025.
“I’m proud of my military service; I’m proud to call myself a Marine; I’m proud to call myself a Vietnam Vet. In fact, if you ask me who I am, deep down inside I’m a Vietnam Vet. That’s who I am. The Vietnam War defined me, taught me who I am as a human being. Most would answer that question, ‘I’m a doctor, or I’m a lawyer, or I’m a carpenter, or whatever,’ but I’m a Vietnam Vet, and proud of it,” said Terry Rizzuti, local Vietnam Veteran.
