- We are all aware that the scars of the Vietnam War run deep.
And we remember and honor all those who served in Vietnam.
Those who came home, and those who tragically did not.
Your courage will never be forgotten, to all our Vietnam veterans, welcome home.
(audience cheers and applauds) The Vietnam War has been over for half a century, but even now, the images from that era remain indelible.
(helicopter blades whir) (militaristic drums music) Vietnam was a never-ending nightmare.
(explosion bursts) The war came at our troops (explosions and gunfire) from everywhere.
(tense orchestral music) Impenetrable jungle valleys, forbidding hill country.
Cities consumed by destruction.
(mournful orchestral music) From 1964 to 1973, more than 3,000,000 deployed to Southeast Asia.
Amidst the horrors of battle, our troops forged lifelong bonds.
Over 150,000 Americans were wounded.
58,220 were killed.
(soaring orchestral music) Their names are now engraved in our nation's memory.
Sadly, many remain unaccounted for.
Families whose loved ones are still missing in action ache from uncertainty.
And for the prisoners of war who suffered unspeakable cruelty, coming home was only the first step in the journey to recovery.
50 years ago, this past March, the last remaining US troops left Vietnam, and the final group of American prisoners of war were freed, and left Hanoi.
(triumphant orchestral music)