City of Rochester
News Release
(Thursday, March 28, 2013) – Mayor Thomas S. Richards today proclaimed Friday, March 29, as Vietnam Veterans Day in the City of Rochester. It was forty years ago, on March 29, 1973, that the last 2,500 troops were withdrawn from South Vietnam.
“As a Vietnam veteran, I am grateful that the State of New York has seen fit to designate March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day. As the Mayor of Rochester, I am honored to extend the meaning of this day to our city -- home to so many people who were touched by this war,” said Mayor Richards. “As an American, I am humbled to play a small role in making sure the veterans of the Vietnam War are afforded the respect and recognition they deserve.”
In 2008, Gov. David A. Paterson signed a bill into law marking March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day in New York. The bill was authored and introduced by Sen. Andrew Lanza and sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblyman Matthew Titone.
There are 4,120 names of New Yorkers listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Greater Rochester holds 280 names of people killed in Vietnam.
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News Media: For more information, contact Gary Walker at 428-7405.