More than 1,000 Missouri military veterans from the Vietnam Era have now received a special honor following a ceremony Monday in St. Joseph.
The City of St. Joseph, along with the AUSA Henry Leavenworth Chapter and the St. Joseph Community Alliance, sponsored a United States of America Vietnam Era Commemoration pinning ceremony Monday morning at Word of Life Church. The event was a thank you to those who served in any branch of the military from November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, and their families.
Wilson D. Fletcher, who was among more than 100 St. Joseph area residents honored at the ceremony, was the 1,000th veteran recognized in one of the events coordinated with the Fort Leonard Wood Association of the United States Army Chapter. The group has aided in several similar ceremonies throughout Missouri since September of 2021.
Those attending Monday’s event were given a commemorative Vietnam Veteran lapel pin, a special coin and a certificate. View the
certificate photos.
St. Joseph Mayor John Josendale, Major General Charles Hausman, Adjutant General of the Missouri National Guard, Judy Bauer, president of the Ft. Leavenworth Association of the United States Army Chapter, and Freddie Brock, president of the Fort Leonard Wood Association of the United States Army Chapter, spoke at the event. Local members of Scouting America served as the honor guard.
Another commemorative ceremony was set for Monday afternoon at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cameron. Pins, coins and certificates also are being awarded to Vietnam Era veterans there.
The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration program was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2012 to create a 13-year period to honor the country’s military veterans of that era and their families. The era’s dates were established to coincide with the Nov. 1, 1955, official designation of Military Assistance Advisory Group – Vietnam and May 15, 1975, which marked the end of the battle caused by the seizure of the SS Mayaguez. Those killed in that battle are the last names included on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.