30th Anniversary of Vietnam War Memorial

First dedicated in 1982

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Thousands of people are arriving here in our nation's capital this November 13, 1982. History will be made in Washington, D.C. I arrived in Washington at 9:53 p.m. on a Thursday with Ron Gardner, Glenn Taylor and Bill Ryan, all from the New Orleans area. They are part of a group of Vietnam veterans gathering in Washington, D.C. for a long delayed welcome home.

The planned ceremonies are a belated national embrace initiated and promoted by the veterans themselves. They fought and died in an unpopular conflict, for uncertain ends and prolonged far beyond the hope of success.