DAYTON — The Miami Valley Military History Museum will host one of its first Fairborn veterans’ events in an upcoming weekend. The museum will host a Vietnam Pinning Ceremony from 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 27.
The lapel pins issued by the Department of Defense are presented to Vietnam veterans and their spouses in recognition for their service and sacrifice.
The event will be held in the Fairborn Senior Center at 325 N. 3rd Street.
Pinning ceremonies are part of the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, a 13-year-long program first proclaimed by Pres. Barack Obama. In the years that followed, the DoD has provided these lapel pins for veterans. The pins are emblazoned with an eagle symbolizing courage, honor and dedicated service. A message on the back reads, “A grateful nation thanks and honors you.”
The ceremony invokes the words of the initial proclamation that started the project: “As a grateful nation, we honor more than 58,000 patriots — their names etched in black granite — who sacrificed all they had and all they would ever know.”
Military spouses also have their own pins, etched with a blue star on a gold field, and the words “service, family, sacrifice.”
Vietnam veterans who served between Nov. 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975 are eligible to receive a lapel pin. Anyone who served in the military anywhere in the world, including stateside, is eligible.
“Any vet wanting to wear their uniform, VN or not, I encourage you to do so,” said Catherine Beers-Conrad, public affairs officer for the museum.
“It’s about damn time,” said Mark Conrad, museum curator in a previous interview. “They deserve some recognition.”
Vietnam war re-enactors will be in attendance, and artifacts from the museum will be on display. Anyone who has a Vietnam war-era vehicle can bring them, Beers-Conrad said.
Masks and social distancing are required.