SARASOTA – On the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War dozens of veterans were honored who served and scarified in the 20 year long war that claimed more than 58,000 American lives.
“It’s to say thank you to all the veterans that served in Vietnam and to remember them for the sacrifice they made and thank them once again for the thank you they never got 30 or 40 years ago,” said Brian Russ, with the Vietnam Brotherhood of Sarasota.
Russ says men returning home from Vietnam were disrespected and shunned for their involvement in the war.
“It was a really bad conflict and we felt that our country didn’t respect anything that we did,” said Russ. “At that time during that war it was a soldiers fault we were fighting that war it was not the governments fault.”
In 2018 President Trump signed into law officially making March 29th National Vietnam War Veterans Day. For Bill Bursken today’s commemoration means validation for him and his fallen brothers.
“It’s really fantastic, long over do for all of us. A lot of people, a lot of our brothers, got kicked to the curb when they got home so this really means a lot to us in general,” said Bursken.
Veterans were honored at the end of the service with a special lapel pin. Our own SNN’s Justin Robicheau father was among the many veterans thanked for their service.
“It meant a lot, when coming back from Vietnam because of the protests and everything else and the way the country was thinking at time it was deploring to be actually spit on,” said Robicheau
The Vietnam Brotherhood of Sarasota looks to continue commemorating and helping Vietnam Veterans receive the help and recognition they deserve.
