PEORIA, Ill. – Those who served and those who were lost in the Vietnam War from Peoria County were recognized on Thursday.
The annual ceremony to honor veterans from the Vietnam War took place at the Peoria County Courthouse grounds. It took place one day before the 51st anniversary of the last American troops to leave Vietnam, ending the country’s involvement in the conflict.
Peoria American Legion Post 2 Commander Jim Ulrich says there’s not too many opportunities left to honor those who served in Vietnam.
“All of the Vietnam veterans are in their 70s or 80s, and just like those that preceded them from Korea and World War Two, they keep losing them and the numbers get less and less and people just forget about them,” Ulrich said.
Ulrich led the ceremony, and read the names of the 105 casualties from the Vietnam War from Peoria County.
The event also featured a reading from Pekin Community High School ROTC Cadet Captain Harley Tovrea, as the ROTC performed a Missing Man Table ceremony for POW’s and MIA’s.
The guest speaker was Sam Rice of Toulon, a Vietnam veteran and Chairman of the POW/MIA Committee for the Illinois American Legion. He urged Vietnam veterans to be proud of their service.
“Don’t try to hide that you were a Vietnam veteran,” Rice said. “Put it out there in public, wear a cap or whatever. Join a service organization and help them.”
Rice says veterans of Vietnam should tell their stories about their service. And he says the public should appreciate them for doing what they had to do for their country when called to serve.
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