SACRAMENTO – Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 500, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the California Department of Veterans Affairs will host a ceremony on Thursday, March 29, to thank and honor Vietnam veterans for their service and to present lapel pins commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

The event, which coincides with National Vietnam War Veterans Day, will begin at noon in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Capitol Park, located at 15th Street at Capitol Avenue behind the Rose Garden in Sacramento.

All Vietnam veterans are invited to attend and receive a commemorative lapel pin in honor of their service to our nation. Pins will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The public is welcome to attend.

Nearly three and a half million Americans served in the United States military during the Vietnam War and related conflicts in Southeast Asia between 1959 and 1975. More than 58,000 U.S. service members died during the Vietnam War, including 5,656 Californians.

The U.S. Vietnam War Commemoration began on Memorial Day in 2012 and will conclude on Veterans Day in 2025.

The period of Nov. 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, is being used to recognize the service and sacrifice of those who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Nov. 1, 1955, was selected to coincide with the official designation of Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam and May 15, 1975, marks the end of the battle precipitated by the seizure of the SS Mayaguez.

U.S. involvement in Vietnam started slowly with an initial deployment of advisors in the early 1950s, grew incrementally through the early 1960s and expanded with the deployment of full combat units in July 1965.

The last U.S. personnel were evacuated from Vietnam in April 1975.

For more information, visit http://www.vietnamwar50th.com.