Virginia War Memorial hosts open house to honor Vietnam veterans

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Virginia War Memorial will host an open house on Friday to honor Virginia's veterans who fought in the Vietnam War.

A special open house will be held at the Virginia War Memorial, located at 621 South Belvidere Street, on Friday, March 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to recognize the service and sacrifice the Virginia Vietnam War Veterans made.

“Virginia is proudly home to more than 670,000 military veterans – one of the largest numbers of veterans per population size of any state – and of these, more than 200,000 served during the Vietnam War era,” said Clay Mountcastle, the Virginia War Memorial Director, in a press release. “Every day, here at the Virginia War Memorial, we remember the over 1,300 Virginian men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving and the over 40 who did not return and remain classified as Missing in Action (MIA). Nine brave Virginians also received the Nation’s highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for their heroic actions serving in the Vietnam War. We honor and remember each of them in the Memorial’s Medal of Honor Gallery”.

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The open house will include a table full of historic memorabilia from the Vietnam War era, oral interviews with veterans who served and the memorial's traveling exhibit, “50 Year’s Beyond: The Vietnam Veteran Experience.”

Additionally, there will be a continuous showing of the Virginia War Memorial's "Virginians at War" series at the Reynolds Theater, featuring Vietnam War-related documentary films.

Docent-led tours of the Shrine of Memory-20th Century that show the engraved list of Virginians' service members who were killed during the Vietnam War will also be held during the event.

Special 50th anniversary Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pins (VVLP) will be given to all Vietnam veterans who have not received one. The pins will be presented to all veterans who served in any branch of the United States Armed Forces from Nov. 1, 1955 through May 15, 1975 anywhere in the world.

The VVLP was created by the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration Commission. The Commemoration Commission recognized the Virginia Department of Veterans Service as a "Top Fifty" commemorative partner in 2014, officials said.

This open house event will be the ninth consecutive year that the state and the Virginia War Memorial will honor the National Vietnam War Veterans Day, which occurs on March 29 every year.

“Vietnam Veterans have shown us how to humbly serve each other, and we are excited to join our fellow Virginians in honoring them by observing National Vietnam War Veterans Day," said John Maxwell, the Virginia Department of Veterans Services Commissioner, in a press release. "We look forward to showing our continued appreciation to Virginia’s citizens – our family, friends, and neighbors who answered the call to duty during the Vietnam War era.”

Admission and parking for this event are free. Community members and Vietnam veterans, along with their families, are encouraged to attend the open house.

For more information, visit the Virginia Department of Veterans Service's website here.