With the political divisions in our country today, those who were not around in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, may not really understand how even more divided our country was during the latter years of the Vietnam War.
But today, the memories and the history of that war and those times are back. Because 50 years ago today, March 29th in 1973, was the day that the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam and Hanoi freed many of the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam.
America’s direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end. It came after several years of anti-Vietnam War protests across the country, many of them violent, one of the worst at Kent State University where students were shot and killed by U.S. national guard members.
At the peak of the war, U.S. troop strength reached nearly 550,000 men. The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history and cost 58,000 American lives.
The war was seen as a failure by many Americans, and sadly for Vietnam vets, they were treated poorly or at the least ignored when they came home. It was not their fault. They did their duty. And today we honor and offer long-delayed thank you for their service to our country.
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: AFP via Getty Images