Mar 31, 2025 By Brad Hundt 2 min read

CECIL – Veterans of the Vietnam War were honored in a ceremony at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township Friday morning.

It happened on the eve of National Vietnam War Veterans Day, and close to 50 years after the conflict came to an end with the fall of Saigon. Many of the veterans from the region who attended the ceremony now have slow gaits or walk with canes.

“For many of you, the call to duty was not a choice, but an obligation, an obligation you accepted with unwavering resolve,” said state Sen. Devlin Robinson, the Bridgeville Republican who represents the 37th Senatorial District. “You are the embodiment of American resolve and you are everyday heroes.”

National Vietnam War Veterans Day is marked on March 29 every year. It was signed into law by President Trump as part of the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017. Edward A. Hajduk, director of the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, noted that recognition for Vietnam War veterans was not always forthcoming in the aftermath of the conflict, which left more than 58,000 American military personnel dead and the country divided.

“Now we have the opportunity to do what should have been done 50 years ago, welcome our veterans home,” Hajduk said.

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense estimated that more than 6 million veterans from the period when the U.S. was engaged in Vietnam were still alive, but those numbers have been dwindling rapidly. Hajduk said there are 8,000 Vietnam War veterans buried at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, and, on average, 47 are interred there every month.