Two major events are happening this week, National Medal of Honor Day, the 25th, and the National Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day, 29 March.

According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, there have been 3533 Medal of Honor Recipients since the Civil War. The number from Maine varies but the Society breaks the number of Mainers by war/conflict as: Civil War – 63, Indian Campaign – 8, Spanish American War – 1, WW II – 2, Korea – 5, Vietnam – 2, Somalia – 1. As Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day is this week, I want to mention specifically Sergeant Donald Kidgel from Caribou and Staff Sergeant Brian Buker from Benton, the two from Vietnam. The last Medal of Honor recipient from Maine was awarded to Master Sergeant Gary Gordan, from Lincoln, for his action in saving the Black Hawk helicopter crew in Mogadishu, on 3 October 1993. His actions were depicted in the movie Black Hawk Down. So, on this day, we should all pause to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and/or went above and beyond, to protect their fellow soldiers and the freedoms we enjoy in this country today.

On Sunday is National Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day. I think it is important to remember what the mood in this country was when most of those who served Vietnam joined the military. The US was in the throes of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, the fear of communism spreading throughout the world, the threat of nuclear war with the Cuban missile crisis bringing the US and the USSR to the brink of that war, the civil rights movement, and the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.

The country was experiencing the counterculture movement with the anti-establishment ideals. Experimentation with psychedelic drugs, alternative lifestyles, and political activism was central to that community. With all this going on, men and women joined the military, leaving the safety of their homes, their loved ones, friends, and departed to no idea where and what the future would hold for them. But, they left to do their duty to “God and Country.” While they served, and we honor them, we need to also honor the strength and resilience of the families and communities that supported them.

And for many Vietnam veterans, this journey is not over. The number 343 of Mainers who we lost in Vietnam does not reflect the actual number of veterans we have lost due to their service in Vietnam. Every day that number grows as the veterans exposed to Agent Orange die due to the medical conditions caused by AO.

Today, we pause to remember those who gave their lives and to acknowledge the service of all who served during that difficult chapter in our nation’s history. Their legacy lives on in the freedoms we enjoy and in the enduring spirit of Maine. You all know veterans in our community who served in Vietnam. This community always remembers and thanks those who served. This week, especially, take the time to thank all Vietnam veterans.