Forward Observer — Vietnam War Commemorative Lapel Pins Available
But Who is Going to Distribute Them?
Are you aware that as part of the 50th Anniversary Commemoration Program, living veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time during the period of November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975, regardless of the location at which they served, are eligible to receive a lapel pin? The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) wants you to know.
The hitch is these lapel pins must be presented during public events held in their communities by Commemorative Partners (those organizations which signed up to conduct at least two commemorative events a year till 2018. In the rare instance when an honoree cannot attend a public event, the pin may be presented during a private ceremony.
In other instances of like awards from other eras, public officials had this privilege regardless of whether or not their agency was a commemorative partner or not (the cities and counties in our area are not listed). Therefore, while well-meaning (for the idea is to honor these veterans), the Department of Defense’s requirement is also, in a sense, unnecessarily onerous or just plain dumb as far as the average, smaller American communities go. Not being committed to doing at least two events per year for originally five years does not mean a community does not care about honoring its Vietnam veterans.
For more information from DMVA, click here. The commemoration’s website will tell you which organizations and events will occur in our area where the label pins can be obtained. And by the way, your organization can still become a commemorative partner.
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RJH
11 April 2016