Vietnam veterans honored throughout Capital Region, 50 years since war ends

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Towns across the Capital Region held ceremonies Saturday honoring Vietnam veterans, 50 years since the Vietnam War ended.

In Schenectady, Vietnam veterans were honored with music, the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance and plenty of speeches from both county officials and veterans themselves. One of the speakers was New York State Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara.

“Today we’re here to say loud and clear, we see you, we honor you and we will never forget what you gave for this country," said Santabarbara.

This year marks 50 years since the Vietnam War ended in 1975. National Vietnam War Veterans Day is observed on March 29, commemorating the withdrawal of the last American combat troops from Vietnam in 1973.

"More than three million Americans served in the Vietnam War and more than 58,000 gave their lives," said Santabarbara.

The Schenectady County Legislature said there are about 7,000 veterans in Schenectady, and 2,400 of those served in Vietnam. This includes Vietnam Veteran Larry Zeglen.

"I was part of a reserve unit in Schenectady, N.Y., in 1968," said Zeglen. "We were the first reserve unit in history to be activated for a conflict."

Zeglen served from 1968 - 1969. He recalled both the ups and the downs from the war at Saturday's ceremony.

“It changed a lot of us, all of us who served in Vietnam, we came home, pieces of that war with us, that we never lost, its with us to this day,” said Zeglen.

Yet even on the days when it gets hard, Zeglen's message to all veterans, was to keep moving forward.

“My whole point here this morning was to drive on, to not let those kind of things stop you from becoming who you can be," said Zeglen. "And if you wake up in the morning and you don't think you can accomplish something you do it anyway because if you don't try you'll never know.” 

Andrew Berry, commander of Schenectady County American Legion, also spoke on the importance of being there for veterans year-round.

“We need to remember their service but I would submit, not just on holidays such as this, let's reach out to our Vietnam vets throughout the year and see how they are doing on days other than holidays, make them feel heard, make them feel welcome," said Berry.

Furthermore, Schenectady wasn't the only county honoring these heroes on Saturday. Hundreds gathered for a Vietnam War Veterans Day Memorial Service Saturday morning at the Saratoga National Cemetery. This was among many other events across the state and throughout the nation.