CALIFORNIA, USA — Wednesday was National Vietnam War Veterans Day, a time to pay tribute to people who served. It also marks 50 years since the U.S. withdrew from the Vietnam War.
"Because of the war, because of the protest movement, because of PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, this galvanized veterans to start lobbying on their own behalf," said Joel Blank, political science professor at San Joaquin Delta College.
More than 3 million Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War.
Many families were impacted, including my own. My uncle, Eugene Painter, served in Vietnam and was one of the lucky ones who returned home.
However, that homecoming wasn't always warm.
"They were accused of such atrocities that turned out to be untrue," said Blank.
"One of the major aspects of the Vietnam War is it ended the draft and ended conscription. And there's no question that we're not going to have a conscripted military anytime soon," Blank added.
The Wall that Heals is a three-quarter replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.
This week, it's making a stop in Citrus Heights for its national tour. It has the names of the more than 58,000 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"Some critics argue that that killed trust in America. That the government lied to us with regard to why we got involved in Vietnam. They overestimated the number of casualties with regard to their knees. They said victory is around the corner, and of course, it wasn't. So that level of skepticism is still very much with us today," said Blank.
The wall includes the names of eight people from Citrus Heights and close to 300 from Sacramento.
Veteran Paul Reyes helped lead the charge in bringing the wall to the Sacramento area.
"This is where I live, and it was important to me because the city has given me so much that it be here. And God willing, everything works out and we get that permanent structure; it will go up here in Citrus Heights as well," said Reyes.
Anyone can visit it 24-hours a day. Along with the wall, a mobile education center will have digital photo displays of "Hometown Heroes," service members whose names are on the wall that list their home within the Sacramento area.
People can visit the wall at Rusch Park in Citrus Heights Thursday through Sunday. There are readings of the names every night..
Meanwhile, Travis Air Force Base is also holding events in honor of those who served. One of the first groups of American POW's that left Vietnamese prison camps arrived at Travis Air Force Base 50 years ago.
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