Organized by Vietnam Veterans in Partnership with the City of Sedona
Sedona AZ (March 23, 2012) – Friday, March 30, 2012 will be the first Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day in the Verde Valley and Northern Arizona. In 2011, the US Senate proclaimed March 30 Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. This date marks the anniversary of the day that combat and combat support units withdrew completely from Vietnam. The City Councils in the Verde Valley will join the Senate by issuing their own proclamations.
Recognizing Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day is a gesture of acceptance, gratitude and honor to the members of our community for their service and the sacrifices they made on our behalf during the Vietnam War – this includes the Veterans and their families. Because a large part of the population had misgivings about the war, many Vietnam Veterans returned home to an unsupportive public. On March 30, Verde Valley communities have the opportunity to celebrate and honor their Vietnam veterans.
We invite Vietnam Veterans and their families to come forth to receive the welcoming, love and healing that our Sedona and Verde Valley communities can offer. It is hoped that fellow veterans from other wars, organizations both public and private, schools, as well as parents, spouses, children and friends of Vietnam Veterans, take time during this day to come out and join the celebration.
The event will include a Motorcycle Escort starting at 10:30 a.m. in Clarkdale. It will go through Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Village of Oak Creek and end at Posse Grounds Park, 525 Posse Ground Road in Sedona. Starting at 1:00 p.m., a full color guard will open the festivities. The event will include entertainment, food, information on Veteran’s benefits, and finish with a movie at the Mary D. Fisher Community Theater around 4:30 p.m.
Over a dozen Vietnam Veterans, family and community members have joined together to organize this event. We are here to create an event that sets a new tradition for the Verde Valley to honor our Vietnam Veterans and their families.