Area Vietnam War Veterans were thanked for their service during a ceremony at the VA’s National Cemetery in Danville today (Wednesday). The event brought back memories as the ceremony commemorated the 50th anniversary of the conflict.
Guest speaker Paul Shannon vividly recalls his service to our nation there. ‘’I’ve been around this area most of my life. I live in Westville. Grew up in the Westville School District and went to Vietnam. (I) did three tours in Nam – and to this day, Nam still lives with me as it does with a lot of the veterans,’’ said Shannon during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News.
Shannon says his ”brothers” in that war were ”doing only what their country asked them to do.” And he noted there are ”58,148 more who did far beyond what their country asked them to do.” They are those who were killed in action.
Veterans were honored with a 50 year commemoration pin and certificate.
The 30-minute ceremony included two songs from that era – ‘’We Gotta Get Out of This Place’’ by the Animals – and ‘‘Stop Children – What’s That Sound’’ by Buffalo Springfield.
‘’The celebration is to thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war, or listed as missing in action, for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States, and to thank and honor the families of these veterans,’’ said Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Director Erica Jeffries during a similar ceremony in LaSalle.
Members of the Illinois Patriot Guard and American Legion Riders…along with other representatives from American Legion Post 51 in Westville and Post 210 in Danville were among the units that participated in the Danville event.
[Story posted March 29, 2017.]
