30th Anniversary of Vietnam War Memorial

First dedicated in 1982

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.