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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWatch President Obama's Speech at the Vietnam War 50th Anniversary (EXCELLENT!!)
You were often blamed for a war you didnt start when you should have been commended for serving your country with valor, Obama said. You were sometimes blamed for misdeeds of a few when the honorable service of the many should have been praised. You came home and sometimes were denigrated when you should have been celebrated. It was a national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened. Thats why, here today, we resolve that it will not happen again.
In marking the 50th anniversary of the start of the Vietnam War, President Obama challenged veterans and Americans to correct the narrative about the men and women who served during one of the most controversial conflicts in American history.
Speaking at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Obama paid tribute to the 58,000 Americans who died in the conflict and 3 million other Americans who fought in Vietnam. The president used his address at the Wall to call on Americans to resolve to take care of its veterans as well as they have taken care of us.
In a 23-minute speech, Obama lamented that Vietnam veterans were too often blamed for a war they didn't start when they should have been commended for serving with valor, Obama said. He expressed regret that the misdeeds of a few sometimes overshadowed the honorable service of the many.
"It was a national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened," Obama said. "That is why here today we resolve that it will never happen again."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/05/obama-laments-poor-treatment-of-vietnam-veterans/1#.T8PXWdWJf24
Presidential Proclamation -- Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War
Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans, Welcome Home!
malaise
(269,245 posts)Excellent indeed
SunsetDreams
(8,571 posts)It was very moving, and he was very blunt.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)SunsetDreams
(8,571 posts)Welcome home Scuba, thank you for your service
Scuba
(53,475 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)I just wish I could pass this onto my Vietnam vet relative, whose wife has now gone Teabag. And he doesn't dare discuss politics at home anymore, to not start a fight because his health is failing.
Brooklyn Dame
(169 posts)...and honour. And Congress owes them!
http://borderlessnewsandviews.com/2012/05/haunting-memories/
http://borderlessnewsandviews.com/2012/05/memorial-day/
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)"50th Anniversary"? Something is wrong either with my memory or with the dates or something. Thought our combat role began there in 1965 (after LBJ was inaugurated). 2025 coincides with 50 years from the end, I suppose, although I thought it ended in 1974.
Maybe I'm just being a pedantic fucker. If so, please forgive me.