WELCOME HOME!
A Nation Honors our Vietnam Veterans and their Families
May 11-13, 2023 | The National Mall, JFK Hockey Fields | West Potomac Park | Washington, D.C.
Camp Legacy: A Legacy of Service and Sacrifice, JFK Hockey Fields/West Potomac Park
Camp Legacy will expand on the story of our Vietnam veterans and the contributions of individual citizens, our allies, the Services, and nongovernmental organizations during the Vietnam War period. It will feature a Plaza of Appreciation with entertainment, a parade ground, interactive engagements, historical and museum exhibits, two static display areas featuring Vietnam period helicopters and vehicles, a Veterans Services Hub, Continuing Legacy Hub and a place for veterans and their families to gather.
Thursday, May 11, 2023
11 a.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground: Opening Ceremony and Ribbon Cutting
This formally opens Camp Legacy.
11 a.m. – 6 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields: Tribute wear blue Mile
The Tribute wear blue Mile, in partnership with Sons and Daughters in Touch, will comprise 200 posters, each with a face and name of a Vietnam War Service Member who remains unaccounted for. This display will border the walkway along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
12 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground: Drill Teams
The Unity Reed High School Air Force JROTC, Manassas., Va., and the U.S. Air Force Drill Teams perform.
1 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground Stage: Pat Garvey
Washington, D.C., based Pat Garvey has been playing Irish folk music in the National Capital Region since 1978. His rendition of Tim Murphy’s “The Wall” is a moving tribute to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
2 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Rally Point Panel Discussion: Reflections on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated on November 13, 1982, is one of the nation’s foremost emblems of service, sacrifice and reflection. Individualsinvolved in this national memorial will discuss their journey, key decisions, and its lasting legacy.
3 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground Stage: The Angel Force Band
Some of popular music’s top session musicians—including James Raymond, who recorded and toured with his late father, David Crosby—rock out on a late ’60s/early ’70s playlist.
4 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Rally Point Panel Discussion: Servicewomen in the Vietnam War
Trailblazing Vietnam veteran servicewomen share their remarkable stories of service—what they did and what inspired more than 265,000 women to don the uniform and serve.
4 p.m. West Potomac Park: U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights Jump
The Golden Knights will perform a precision parachute drop in West Potomac Park. A grass viewing area will be open between Camp Legacy West Potomac Park and the concert stage.
5 – 6 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground: Sunset Performance
The U.S. Coast Guard Drill team and the U.S. Coast Guard Jazz Band perform.Vietnam veterans with Bugles Across America play TAPS thereby closing out Camp Legacy Day One.
Friday, May 12, 2023
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields bordering Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool:
Tribute wear blue Mile
The Tribute wear blue Mile display will border the walkway along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The Tribute, in partnership with Sons and Daughters in Touch, will comprise 200 posters, each with a face and name of a Vietnam War Service Member who remains unaccounted for.
10 a.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground: Drill Teams
The Ballou Senior High School Marching Band, Washington D.C.; Herndon High School Navy JROTC Drill Team and the U.S. Navy Drill Team perform.
11 a.m. JFK Hockey Fields Rally Point Panel Discussion: U.S. Allies in the Vietnam War
Hear the experiences of South Korean, Australian, New Zealand, and Thai military personnel in the Vietnam War. Learn how the allied partners who fought alongside the American forces and the South Vietnamese were organized, where they served and what they did.
12 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground Stage: Danny Many Horses
A member of the Mescalero Apache and a service veteran, Danny Many Horses fuses native flute songs with jazz to create what he calls “Nazz,” a blend of old world and new world.
1 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Rally Point Panel Discussion: Military Nurses Speak
As part of the program celebrating International Nurses Day, a panel of Vietnam veteran nurses from each of the services will recount their experiences during the Vietnam War, mending wounds and tending to ailments under harsh conditions and unrelenting fire.
2 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground Stage: Donnie Isaacs
A veteran who found his calling in country music through the Center for American Military Music Opportunities (CAMMO), will be performing. CAMMO is geared toward elevating and empowering service members, veterans and military-connect families through music.
3 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Rally Point Panel Discussion: Four-Star Vietnam Veterans
The Air & Space Forces Association host six retired four-star flag officers who are Vietnam veterans in a multiservice discussion of the Vietnam War and its legacy: U.S. Army Gen. Dennis J. Reimer, U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John J. Sheehan, U.S. Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, U.S. Air Force Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, National Guard Bureau Gen. Craig R. McKinley and U.S. Coast Guard Adm. James M. Loy.
4 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Rally Point Panel Discussion: The Ongoing Mission Accounting for POWs and MIAs
The missing in action and still unaccounted for are an important population of Vietnam veterans yet to be “welcomed home.” Hear experts and family members on this issue and the remarkable and successful efforts in accounting for the unaccounted.
4 p.m. West Potomac Park: U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights Jump
The Golden Knights will perform a precision parachute drop in West Potomac Park. A grass viewing area will be open between Camp Legacy West Potomac Park and the concert stage.
5 – 6 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground: Sunset Performance
The U.S. Army Drill team and the U.S. Navy’s Country Current will perform. Vietnam veterans with Bugles Across America play TAPS thereby closing out Camp Legacy Day Two.
6:20 p.m. Nationals Park: Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home at Nationals Park
Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals will honor Vietnam veterans and their families, before and during the team’s home game (opening pitch at 7:05 p.m.) against the New York Mets. Celebrations include a pinning ceremony for Vietnam veterans, special recognition of families who lost loved ones in the war, and an International Nurses Day tribute to Vietnam veteran nurses.
Saturday, May 13, 2023
8:30 a.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground: Warm-up Session
The President’s Council for Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition will partner with youth from the Nation’s Capital to lead a warmup and stretching session for veterans, their family members, and all other attendees.
9 a.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground: wear blue Circle of Remembrance and Run
wear blue: run to remember will lead the Circle of Remembrance, a place of connection, support, and physical activity for athletes of all abilities. Members of the group will embark on a self-paced run, walk, roll or other physical activity. The one- or two-mile routes around the National Mall will begin through the Tribute wear blue Mile highlighting 200 of the over 58,281 U.S. Armed Forces service members listed on the Vietnam Veterans MemoriaL.
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. West Potomac Park: The “Welcome Home Veterans” Radio Show
Joe Griffies will host his weekly “Welcome Home Veterans” radio show. The program brings recognition to Vietnam War veterans and addresses the challenges of all veterans. The show can be heard on WIBG, 1020 AM and 101.3 FM
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields: Tribute wear blue Mile
The Tribute wear blue Mile, in partnership with Sons and Daughters in Touch, will comprise 200 posters, each with a face and name of a Vietnam War Service Member who remains unaccounted for. This display will border the walkway along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
10 a.m. Parade Ground: Drill Teams
Military Working Dog Demonstration by the 316 Security Support Group, Military Working Dog Unit, at Joint Base Andrews, hosted by the Vietnam Dog Handler Association.
11 a.m. Rally Point Panel Discussion: Journalism in the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was the first TV war, and media coverage changed the perception and support back home in the United States. Hosted by Stars and Stripes, Mark Bowden, author of Hue 1968 and Black Hawk Down, will lead the discussion, which includes two Stars and Stripes reporters in Vietnam, of the difficulties of telling the Vietnam War story.
1 p.m. West Potomac Park: “Welcome Home” Concert/Multimedia Celebration
The keystone event is a large-stage program featuring live music, speakers, video montages and multimedia elements telling the story of the Vietnam War period and paying tribute to the service, sacrifice, and contributions of Vietnam veterans, their families, and the many who supported them.
3 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground Stage: Erica Scanlon Harr
The 2004 Miss New Jersey has pursued a successful stage career in Off-Broadway shows, Disney Cruise Line, and regional theaters.
4 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Rally Point Panel Discussion: How to Preserve your Service Artifacts
Hosted by the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, professional museum curators and archivists will offer tips on how to preserve your own historic documents and artifacts, and where to donate those service memorabilia into perpetuity.
4 p.m. West Potomac Park: U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights Jump
The Golden Knights will perform a precision parachute drop in West Potomac Park. A grass viewing area will be open between Camp Legacy West Potomac Park and the concert stage.
5 – 6 p.m. JFK Hockey Fields Parade Ground: Sunset Performance
The U.S. Marine Corps Drill Team and the U.S. Marine Corps band Free Country perform. Vietnam veterans wutg Bugles Across America plays TAPS, closing out Camp Legacy Day Three and concluding Welcome Home!
Gold Star Family Film Screenings Event and Reception
War reverberates for generations. For six Gold Star Daughters and one Gold Star Sister of the Vietnam War, war is not the final word. Over a lifetime, these women have sought to share a greater understanding of their losses to war through powerful storytelling. Touching on a poignant arc of experience during and after the war, the films define what it means to be a Gold Star Family.
When: May 10, 2023
Where: DAR Constitution Hall — 1776 D Street, NW • Washington DC • (Enter on 18th Street between C and D Streets)
Event Time: 10:30 am – 9:15 pm
Reception with Filmmakers: 5:45 pm to 7 pm – Generously Hosted by the Gary Sinise Foundation
Feature Film: Blood Road airs from 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm, followed by ‘Cookies and Conversation’
Questions & RSVP: Colleen Shine – ColleenCShine@gmail.com • 571-447-7844
We look forward to having you join us at this Film Screening at the start of the nation’s ‘Welcome Home!’ activities that are part of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration.
Run to Remember Tribute Mile
In a salute to those who gave their lives in the Vietnam War, wear blue: Run to Remember will hold a Circle of Remembrance at 9AM EST on May 13th.
Prior to the walking/running event on the National Mall, the names and faces of 200 fathers of SDIT members will be honored in the Circle of Remembrance that is part of the Vietnam War Commemoration’s ‘Welcome Home!’ program.
Learn More Here: https://sdit.org/
Click below to watch the video.
