National Vietnam War Veterans Awareness Day
We need to remember all soldiers in all wars of their sacrifice. Thousands of Vietnam Vets never made it home.
Every year on March 29, our nation observes National Vietnam War Veterans Day — a day set aside to remember those who served in Vietnam and those who never came home.
This is a separate holiday from Veterans Day which is celebrated on November 11th, that marks the end of the First World War.
For many years, that recognition did not come. The war was controversial. The country was divided. Many veterans returned quietly, some wounded in body, many wounded in spirit. It took decades before the nation formally paused to say, “We remember. We thank you.”
I served in Vietnam as a Personnel Specialist. During that time, I tore the medial meniscus in my right knee and had surgery at Cam Ranh Air Force Base hospital. I stayed in the hospital for a week or two. I refused to be medivac back to the States as I wanted to finished my tour in Vietnam. The hospital ward had about thirty beds filled with soldiers — many missing limbs, others facing injuries that would change their lives forever.
What stays with me even now was not just what I saw — but what I didn’t hear.
Very few complained.
Most endured their pain quietly. Many were sent home because they needed advanced medical care. I stayed as one of my jobs was to update casualty reports for the 35th Engineer group and in 8 months was reassigned to the 577th Combat Engineer Battalion. I visited some of those men, so the reports would be accurate. Seeing their reality up close changed me. It gave meaning to the words “casualty report.” They were not numbers. They were sons, husbands, brothers, friends.
A Greater Love
John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
1 John 3:16: This verse reinforces the concept by saying, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters”
To lay down one’s life means more than dying. It means giving yourself — your safety, your comfort, your future — for the sake of others. Many did exactly that.
We must remember them. Not only on March 29. Not only on Veterans Day. But always.
A Final Reflection
War teaches many lessons. Some about courage. Some about sacrifice. Some about responsibility.
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others.
May we honor those who did.
May we remember those who could not come home.
And may we never choose to look the other way when a life can be saved.
Patrick Brown was born at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, AZ on February 25th, 1949. He became a Christian Believer when he stepped off the plane in Vietnam in 1971. Since that time, he has devoted his life to the Lord through ministering as a Sunday School teacher in various churches in Mississippi. He is a graduate of Exploding Evangelism (EE) and certified as a Gospel Evangelist Trainer. Patrick is a member on staff at Christian Grandfather Magazine in charge of Daily Devotionals. He and his wife, Sherrilyn, enjoy retirement in Ridgeland, MS.They have two Daughters, five Grandsons and two Great Grandsons.
Image by Unknown Author
Patrick,
Thank you for this wonderful post and thank you for serving our country and troops in Vietnam. I was there with the Marines most of 69 through early 70. Thank you for how you have served our Lord by caring for so many people since becoming a Christian. God bless you, your marriage, family and ministry.