Jeremy Lee joined KITV after over a decade & a half in broadcast news from coast to coast on the mainland. Jeremy most recently traveled the country documenting protests & civil unrest.
The day chosen because on March 29th 1973, the last US combat troops left Vietnam.
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Ten years ago, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 29 National Vietnam War Veterans Day. In 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the annual military holiday.
The holiday parade is relatively new in Honolulu, but the scars for many of the veterans who marched in Waikiki Tuesday have remained for decades.
JR Rodrigues says the parade marks the first big local event since 2017. He wishes local and state politicians would show support.
"We never had the welcome when we came back, then in '68. In 2017 we had the 50th anniversary welcome home parade, none (elected officials) were here to meet us or thank us. And now again, it looks like it's gonna happen again," Rodrigues told KITV4.
Deb Lewis of Veterans of Foreign Wars was deployed to Iraq. She says hearing from those who served is a periodic reminder to the nation.
"It's important to remember that anytime someone says we want to go to war, you think about the people who served and will have to die in order to make that happen. Sometimes it's necessary. But you don't want to do it without considerable thought. It's really a last resort," Lewis said.
Jeremy Lee joined KITV after over a decade & a half in broadcast news from coast to coast on the mainland. Jeremy most recently traveled the country documenting protests & civil unrest.
