In March 1973, the last U.S. combat unit withdrew from Vietnam, returning many veterans to a disgraced country divided.

Starting at noon on Saturday, March 25, the 50th Anniversary Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day event will be held at the Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery, 7900 E. Main St., Mesa, U.S. Active Service Areas. We are trying to solve this problem by honoring the veterans of the military. His army from November 1955 to May 1975, regardless of location at the time. Veterans are invited to receive free haircuts and other services from nearly 100 education and information vendors.

Members of the public are invited to join the celebration, including live bands, Native American and Mexican folk dance troupes, Wreaths Across America educational trailer featuring military equipment, food trucks, and a replica Vietnam Veterans Memorial It has been.

Organizers encourage people to donate small amounts of non-perishable food to benefit the Superstition Community Food Bank.

Beginning at 10:00 am, a ceremony will be held by the Apache Junction High School Navy JROTC, including a color guard.

In addition, a student at Patterson Elementary School in Gilbert holds a sign with cheering messages such as “Welcome back” and “Thank you for your service.”

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, from February 1961 to May 1975, about 2.7 million U.S. military personnel served in Vietnam. Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. It bears the names of more than 58,000 of his soldiers who died in the war.

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed an executive order making March 29 an annual Vietnam War Veterans Day. In 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act to include Vietnam Veterans Day as an opportunity to fly the flag on all public buildings.

In 2012, Gold Canyon’s Nancy Fassbender began hosting an event that brings together more than 1,500 veterans each March at the Mesa Marketplace Swap Meet to honor veterans.

A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Fassbender joined the Army National Guard in 1975 as a helicopter mechanic, and an injury ended his military career three years later, something Fassbender still says he’s “extremely proud of.” “There are.”

Fassbender spent most of his career as an accountant before moving to Arizona in 1998.

An office manager for a tax preparation company in Gold Canyon, she has organized various veterans events and authored the book My Fallen Hero. From World War I to the present.

“I encourage the people because they want Vietnam veterans to come home,” Fassbender said. “This is why we couldn’t lose as many soldiers as possible in Iraq and Afghanistan because of technology and everything we learned happened in Vietnam.”

Fassbender has partnered with Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemeteryne Mesa on other projects, such as Reese Across America, which provides people with the opportunity to place wreaths on veterans’ graves during the Christmas holidays.

She contacted Mountain View about hosting a Vietnam Veterans Celebration and was surprised by the response.

“I didn’t say a word before they said, ‘We’re going. We’re honored to be working with you on this,'” Fassbender said.

Elisa Krcilek, vice president of Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery, said while she holds a special place in her heart for all veterans, those who served in Vietnam are special. .

“I have a very long military history, and today’s military personnel are treated and respected to a much greater extent than they were 50 years ago,” she said.

Krucilek and her sister were born at the Marine Corps Air and Ground Combat Center base in Twentynine Palms, California, where their father was a heavy equipment operator in the Marine Corps. She has her two sons who are in the Navy.

In addition to the significance of the half-century anniversary, Mr Krucilek said that such an event brings communities together, regardless of their political views on the war, and leaves them with a feeling of respect and gratitude for their service when they return home. He said he could honor the men and women who

“It gives our cemetery an opportunity to show respect, respect and gratitude to those who have served during a very difficult time,” said Krucilek. “They came back in Vietnam with a heavy heart, no matter what role or job they had.”

Krcilek’s father served in the Marine Corps for four years and attended boot camp with many of the men deployed to Vietnam. Among them were his two cousins, one of whom he was featured on on the cover of his magazine Time His Life and in a documentary.

Kulikulek’s father shows his Marine Corps pride in his hat and shirt, but he never wears a Vietnam military cap.

“My father was always very proud of his cousins, but oddly enough, he was a little disappointed that he didn’t get to play the same role as them,” said Krucilek.

Krucilek said events like this show that veterans are highly valued and that their service is not neglected.

She recalled an incident at a supermarket while wearing a “Proud Navy Mother” T-shirt, when an older man “clearly choked” walked up to her and thanked her son. Did.

According to Krucilek, the man told her:

“I said, ‘I really appreciate you coming home,'” she recalls. Many of my friends and many of the men I served did not.

This is one of the reasons why Krcilek said, “I love this idea,” when Nancy Fassbender approached Mountain View.

“So it’s a huge honor to be able to do this for veterans and their families,” said Krucilek.

Information: Nancy Fassbender (520-280-4715).