A ceremony recognizing “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” is planned Friday in Menifee, featuring exhibits and an address by a former U.S. Navy corpsman who served with Marines in multiple combat operations, including the legendary siege at Khe Sanh.
“We are honored and privileged to have so many Vietnam veterans in our community, and this event allows us to give them the proper welcome home many did not receive when they returned from their tour of duty,” Councilman Dean Deines said. “Our city will never forget their sacrifice and their service to our country.”
The ceremony is slated for 10 a.m. Friday on the campus of Paloma Valley High School, 31375 Bradley Road.
There will be a host of exhibits for attendees to view, and for those Vietnam veterans on hand, special recognition will be paid in the form of small gifts from the city during a reception. Municipal and Riverside County agencies will also staff information booths, offering resources for veterans who may be in need of benefits assistance.
The event’s keynote speaker will be Rod “Doc” Fink, a Fleet Marine corpsman who was attached to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, known as “The Walking Dead,” for a roughly yearlong tour spanning 1967-68.
“His battalion was involved in major operations and battles along the demilitarized zone, including Con Thien, Gio Linh, the `Rockpile’ and the 77-day siege at Khe Sanh,” according to a city statement.
The latter defensive action occurred in the winter of 1968, when North Vietnamese communist forces and Viet Cong guerillas launched the massive Tet Offensive.
“After Vietnam, Fink struggled with PTSD, and in 2008, he nearly died from cancer caused by Agent Orange,” the city stated.
Fink is active with Veterans of Foreign Wars in Temecula and is among historians with the 9th Marines Association, gathering personal stories from Leathernecks and corpsmen for publication, officials said.
Almost 6,000 Californians died serving in the Vietnam War, and of those, 109 were from Riverside County, according to the U.S. National Archives.
The 50th anniversary marking the war’s official end will be next month. The U.S. Embassy in Saigon was completely evacuated on April 30, 1975.
The state has held Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day ceremonies for over a decade, always at the end of March.