By TERRY DICKSON terry.dickson@jacksonville.com
Brunswick, GA – Veterans who served during Vietnam will be honored with a certificate and lapel pin during a March 23 ceremony at College of Coastal Georgia, the state Veterans Service said.
Veterans Service Commissioner Mike Roby will join federal, county and city officials at the 6:30 p.m. ceremony in which each veteran will receive a certificate recognizing their service during the war and with a Vietnam War veteran lapel pin from the Defense Department, Roby’s office said.
Roby said it is never too late to thank veterans especially the Vietnam veterans who were never properly thanked when they returned home.
“We hope to eventually present every Georgia veteran with a certificate of honor recognizing their service during the Vietnam War,” Roby said.
Every Georgia veteran with honorable service during the war — June 1, 1954, through May 15, 1975 — as recognized by the U.S. Defense Department is eligible to receive a certificate. That includes veterans with service in-country and those who served in other capacities.
The program is part of the Defense Department’s 50th-anniversary commemoration of the Vietnam War. The Georgia Department of Veterans Service created the Vietnam War Certificate of Honor program in partnership with Gov. Nathan Deal’s office, Roby’s office said.
Each certificate has the veteran’s name, rank, branch and dates of service printed over the state seal, and each includes the Defense Department’s Vietnam War Commemorative Partner logo.
Of the nearly 16,500 certificates issued since March 2014, about 13,500 have been presented in more than 250 ceremonies around the state.
The deadline for signing up for the ceremony is March 10.
Local Vietnam-era veterans interested in participating in the ceremony may contact the Georgia Department of Veterans Service by email at bziringue@vs.state.ga.us with their DD Form 214 attached. They may also fax their name, address, phone number and DD Form 214 to (404) 656-7006. Either communication should be marked Brunswick C&P Ceremony.
Interested veterans may also contact the Brunswick Veterans Service field office at 11 Judicial Lane in Brunswick or by phone at (912) 262-2345.