The fourth Annual Vietnam Veterans Day Celebration will be held Saturday, March 25, 4 p.m., at Heritage Park.
The event is hosted by Atmore Memorial VFW Auxiliary to Post 7016 and is hosted in part by VFW Foundation Community Services Grant.
Last Sunday afternoon, March 19, several Auxiliary members and friends gathered at Heritage Park to make final plans and also to assemble new banners and flagpoles
Scheduled to participate in the program are Lana Langford – National Anthem; the Rev. Harold Askew, opening prayer; Judge Jeff White, keynote speaker.
The Atmore Fire Department will be on hand with the giant American flag flying over the park.
Please note: In case of inclement weather, the event will be held in the YMCA. That decision will be made Saturday morning and will be posted on the Memorial VFW Auxiliary Facebook page and on the Atmore News website and Facebook page.
For more information about the Vietnam Veterans Celebration, call (251) 359-0768.
The Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States Government to a member of its armed forces. The recipients must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States. Due to the nature of this medal, it is commonly presented posthumously.
The Vietnam War took place from 1955 to 1975.
During the Vietnam War and in the following 12 months after the end of the war, 235 Medals of Honor were received, 162 of them posthumously. Since 1978, 23 additional awards have been presented – 172 were to the US Army, 15 to the US Navy, 57 to the USMC, and 14 to the USAF.
The last of the Medals of Honor were presented for service in Vietnam in 2014. President Barak Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Sgt. First Class Bennie G. Adkins and posthumously to Specialist Four Donald P. Sloat of the U.S. Army.