If you go
Welcome Home Celebration Honoring Vietnam Veterans Schedule› Tuesday, March 28, Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. — Screenings of “We Were Soldiers” at 10 a.m., 1:30 and 4 p.m. Each showing will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Joe Galloway, co-author of the book “We Were Soldiers Once … and Young,” and featuring soldiers from the movie.› Wednesday, March 29, Chattanooga National Cemetery, 1200 Bailey Ave. — A final welcome home featuring an address by Joe Galloway, 6-7 p.m.
Chattanooga kicked off a three-day jubilee to honor Vietnam War veterans with a long-awaited “welcome home” celebration Monday night at the First Tennessee Pavilion.
Vietnam veterans, joined by their families and friends, received welcome home pins, shared their stories and sat down to a massive picnic-style dinner when the 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemoration program began. In all, the event fed at least 1,000 people, organizers said.
Organizers, hosts and special guests made it clear: a nation rent by turmoil over a costly and unpopular war still owes a debt of gratitude to the men and women who served their country all those decades ago.
“Unfortunately, when you served, our American public was a little confused,” Tennessee Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Many-Bears Grinder said. “They didn’t know the difference between those who make the decisions about war and those who carried out their orders.”