{"id":3609,"date":"2019-03-29T17:39:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T17:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/?p=3609"},"modified":"2019-03-29T17:39:39","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T17:39:39","slug":"sacrifices-of-vietnam-veterans-honored-at-exchanges-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/03\/29\/sacrifices-of-vietnam-veterans-honored-at-exchanges-worldwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacrifices of Vietnam Veterans Honored at Exchanges Worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At the Vietnam pinning ceremony March 29, CSM Micheal Sutterfield of the USAG Bavaria talks with retired Sgt. 1st Class Mario Mercado. Mercado served in Vietnam from August 1972 to March 1973.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DALLAS \u2013 <\/strong>Vietnam-era Veterans were honored for their sacrifice with pinning ceremonies at Army & Air Force Exchange Service stores around the world<\/a> and at Exchange headquarters March 29\u2014National Vietnam War Veterans Day.<\/p>\n

The free lapel pins, provided in partnership with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration<\/a>, are a token of the Nation\u2019s appreciation for these heroes, who, decades ago, did not receive the homecomings they deserved.<\/p>\n

Doug Dixon, from Camden, S.C., spent 13 years in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He said he never received a proper thank-you for his service other than from his wife, Leah, who was a Veterans Affairs nurse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was everything but \u2018thank you\u2019 when we returned to San Francisco back in 1969,\u201d Dixon said after receiving his pin in a ceremony at Fort Jackson. \u201cNot a lot of thank-yous then. I left it behind me. It\u2019s hard to believe it\u2019s been 50 years. It seems like it was just yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exchange Director\/CEO Tom Shull, a Vietnam-era Army Veteran, understands the importance of recognizing Veterans from that era for their sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many of my Soldiers came back from Vietnam broken,\u201d Shull said. \u201cThe American public didn\u2019t understand their sacrifices\u2014and these heroes didn\u2019t receive the homecoming they so rightly deserved. This is a way to thank them and extend a small measure of the gratitude they did not receive as they returned from combat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration is a program administered by the Office of the Secretary of Defense to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The U.S. began commemoration of the Vietnam War\u2019s 50th anniversary in 2012 and will continue through Veterans Day 2025.<\/p>\n

The Exchange is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Partner, planning and conducting events and activities that recognize Vietnam Veterans and their families for service, valor and sacrifice in conjunction with the Commemoration.<\/p>\n

Maj. Gen. (Retired) James Jackson, Commemoration director, was grateful for the Exchange\u2019s continued partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with the Exchange has enabled us to greatly increase awareness,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cAs a result, we were able to commemorate the achievements and sacrifices of deserving Vietnam Veterans today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook-Friendly Version<\/strong>: Vietnam-era Veterans were honored for their sacrifice with pinning ceremonies at Army & Air Force Exchange Service stores around the world and at Exchange headquarters March 29\u2014National #VietnamWarVeteransDay. Read more: https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Q7PG-Wd<\/a><\/p>\n

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— 30 —<\/p>\n

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Since 1895, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) has gone where Soldiers, Airmen and their families go to improve the quality of their lives by providing valued goods and services at exclusive military pricing. The Exchange is the 61st-largest retailer in the United States. Its earnings provided $2.4 billion in dividends to support military morale, welfare and recreation programs over the last 10 years. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense and is directed by a Board of Directors. The Exchange is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Partner, planning and conducting events and activities that recognize the service, valor and sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans and their families in conjunction with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our website at http:\/\/www.shopmyexchange.com<\/a> or follow us on Twitter at https:\/\/twitter.com\/ExchangePAO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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###<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Media Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative please contact Chris Ward, 214-312-3861 or wardchr@aafes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow the Exchange:<\/p>\n

Facebook:\u00a0 www.facebook.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter:\u00a0 https:\/\/twitter.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Instagram: @shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DALLAS \u2013 Vietnam-era Veterans were honored for their sacrifice with pinning ceremonies at Army & Air Force Exchange Service stores around the world and at Exchange headquarters March 29\u2014National Vietnam War Veterans Day. The free lapel pins, provided in partnership with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, are a token of the Nation\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":3611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Vietnam-era #Veterans were honored for their sacrifice with pinning ceremonies at Army & Air Force Exchange Service stores around the world and at Exchange headquarters March 29\u2014National #VietnamWarVeteransDay.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[25],"tags":[35,32,34,33,36,39,45,84],"class_list":["post-3609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press_releases","tag-military","tag-nobanner","tag-photography","tag-press-release","tag-public-affairs","tag-the-army-air-force-exchange-service","tag-veterans","tag-vietnam-veteran"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/03\/29\/sacrifices-of-vietnam-veterans-honored-at-exchanges-worldwide\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Sacrifices of Vietnam Veterans Honored at Exchanges Worldwide","url":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/03\/29\/sacrifices-of-vietnam-veterans-honored-at-exchanges-worldwide\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/03\/29\/sacrifices-of-vietnam-veterans-honored-at-exchanges-worldwide\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/47492711651_5aa6cb75f8_o-e1553881149166.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/47492711651_5aa6cb75f8_o-e1553881149166.jpg"},"articleSection":"Press Releases","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Marisa Conner"}],"creator":["Marisa Conner"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Exchange Newsroom","logo":""},"keywords":["military","nobanner","photography","press release","public affairs","the army & air force exchange service","veterans","vietnam veteran"],"dateCreated":"2019-03-29T17:39:39Z","datePublished":"2019-03-29T17:39:39Z","dateModified":"2019-03-29T17:39:39Z"},"rendered":"