KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

As March came to a close, members of the community spent a day to commemorate and honor its Vietnam Veterans with the Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony, sponsored by the Tullahoma Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

The commemoration was set for March 29 to mark the occasion of when the last American troops were pulled out of Vietnam. While many evacuations of ground forces had taken place in the months prior, March 29, 1973, marked the day when the final amount of American troops were lifted out of South Vietnam and set on a course for home. While a few support forces remained until the fall of Saigon in 1975, active duty American forces were all evacuated that late March day in 1973.

Kick starting the local ceremony was Maj. Gen. (Ret) Alan Harris of American Legion Post 43 who introduced the members of the Tullahoma High School Marine Corp. Junior ROTC to present the colors. Rev. Martin Nutter read a message from President and CEO of USAA Wayne Peacock about Vietnam Veterans Day before saying a prayer.

“In this gathering, we welcome and salute you veterans of Vietnam,” Nutter said.

Shelia Seay, Veterans Chairman of DAR, welcomed the veterans and attendees who came to support them and the families to the ceremony.

“We honor the men and women who served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War,” Seay said. “We appreciate your service, your courage and your many sacrifices, and those of your family, to help insure our American freedoms. You are true American patriots and we thank you.”

Seay also thanked American Legion Post 43, the city of Tullahoma, South Jackson Performing Arts Center, the THS Marine Corp. Junior ROTC and others who help to make the event possible.

Following Seay was Mayor Ray Knowis, who gave his sincere thanks to all those who served in Vietnam, presented the city’s proclamation, where he went over the brief history of National Vietnam War Veterans Day, which was created in 2012 in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the war, and was designated as a holiday in 2017 to commemorate and honor all the veterans who answered the call of duty.

“We never can fully repay our debt gratitude to those brave men and women who served, who were wounded or died in battle,” Knowis said during his proclamation. “National Vietnam War Veterans Day presents an opportunity for the people of Tullahoma to honor and thank our Vietnam veterans for their service to their country.”

Member of the Tullahoma Chapter DAR Mary Ann Scott said DAR has been trying to honor the veterans since it became a commemoration partner in 2015. She then presented the Vietnam Veterans Day Commemorative Flag and explained how and what each color and symbol represented to the veterans and their families.

“When placed next to the flags of World War II and the Korean War Commemorative Flags, the Vietnam War Commemorative Flag will signify the Vietnam veterans taking their rightful place among generations of U.S. veterans,” Scott said.

Tanya Sheely, President of the GFWC Centennial Women’s Club of Tullahoma, thanked everyone for attending and said the club was honored to become a commemoration partner.

“We saw this as a wonderful opportunity to show our appreciation towards our veterans by agreeing to participate in at least two events each year to honor our veterans,” Sheely said. “Truly, we are proud partners with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration and are privileged to honor Vietnam veterans and their families right here in Tullahoma.”

She and Scott then presented each Vietnam veteran with lapel pins and the ceremony was concluded with the raising of the Vietnam War Commemorative Flag, which flew at South Jackson Performing Arts Center for the rest of the week.