Vietnam War Veterans Day Ceremony in Woodstock Saturday

From the McHenry County Veterans Assistance Commission:

County Hosting Vietnam War Veterans Day Ceremony on

March 29

WOODSTOCK, Ill. – McHenry County will come together with area veterans’ groups to honor and share the stories of those who served during the Vietnam War.

The event, open and free to the public, will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Vietnam War memorial outside the front entrance of the County Government Administration Building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock.

The McHenry County Veterans Assistance Commission is hosting the event in partnership American Legion Post 412 in Woodstock, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5040 in McHenry.

The ceremony will include remarks from local veterans and officials, a tribute to the men and women who served, and a moment of reflection for the sacrifices they made.

Also, a plaque will be dedicated to the late Joe Kersten, a Vietnam veteran and longtime VAC
chairman who died in 2023.

Congress designated March 29 as Vietnam War Veterans Day to honor the more than 2.7 million American men and women who served in Vietnam; the date was chosen on account of being the anniversary of the 1973 withdrawal of the last American combat soldier.

More than 58,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines died during the war, with another 1,200 still counted as missing.

For more information regarding the event, contact the VAC at 815-334-4229, and visit its Facebook page for updates.

= = = = =

My father was on the McHenry County Board committee which met with Veterans to design the memorial.

He asked if they wanted the names of all those who served to be put on the memorial.

The Veterans decided that only the names of those who died in Vietnam should be memorialized.