ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Community veterans, military family members and distinguished guests gathered at Patriot Field to honor those warriors who are no longer with us and celebrate those who have served. Currently serving Florida Guardsmen provided full honors with a retreat ceremony focusing on the sacrifices made by those who served in Vietnam.
The Florida National Guard celebrated veterans of the war by dedicating the field with the spreading of soil from Vietnam as well as the internment of soil beneath one of the many dedication plaques lining the field. The ceremony marks 50 years since the ground war in Vietnam began in 1965.
On March 8, 1965, 3,500 Marines entered Vietnam as the first wave of combat troops to augment the more than 25,000 military advisers already in country.
Shortly after, official ground combat operations began against North Vietnamese forces.
“In many ways we are expressing our thanks today, to those who served in the Vietnam War and certainly to the families who supported them; most of all this is a very public way to express our thanks for the courage, bravery and dedication of those who paid the ultimate price,” said retired Brig. Gen. Dan Cherry. “A grateful nation truly does remember and honors on a daily basis all Vietnam veterans for their service.”
More than 58,000 Americans lost their lives in Vietnam; 1,954 of those who paid the ultimate price of freedom were from Florida. Those who returned did so with physical and mental scars of not just the combat of which they lived, but with the memories of those friends and brothers-in-arms who answered the call with their life.
“The dedication today is to honor every Florida National Guardsmen for their service and sacrifice during this controversial war and let them know there are still Soldiers and citizens that remember their contribution to this great nation,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jerry Dedge, the Command Chief Warrant Officer for the Florida National Guard. “Veterans Day to me means honoring the service and sacrifice to every service member that has served and thanking them for the blanket of freedom they have provided to the people of the United States of America.”
Date Taken: | 11.10.2015 |
Date Posted: | 11.10.2015 19:00 |
Story ID: | 181644 |
Location: | SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL, US |
Web Views: | 129 |
Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Vietnam War Plaque Dedication, by MSgt Christopher Milbrodt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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