Courtesy Photo | Shown here is a view of the commemorative lapel pin that select commissaries worldwide...... read more read more
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By DeCA Corporate Communications
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – There are 58,152 names carved into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., forever marking the men and women who lost their lives in that war.
On March 29, the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) joins all Americans in honoring veterans on National Vietnam War Veterans Day. All commissaries worldwide are planning free giveaways of special lapel pins, fact sheets and commemoration brochures courtesy of the Vietnam War Commemoration Office (https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/).
“It’s a privilege for us at DeCA to honor our Vietnam War veterans for their service and sacrifice,” said John E, Hall, agency director and CEO. “More than five decades ago, there were military commissaries over there to support them, and I welcome and encourage our Vietnam War veterans, who are also disabled veterans, to use their on-base shopping benefits today.”
Vietnam Veterans Day was first established by presidential proclamation in 2012 leading to the start of annual observance events in 2014. The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 further established the events as a national observance to recognize Vietnam War-era veterans who served from Nov. 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975.
According to the National Vietnam War Commemoration website, the observance date recognizes March 29, 1973, the day the United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam ceased operations with the last U.S. combat troops leaving the country.
Approximately 9 million U.S. military members served on active duty during the Vietnam War era. Out of the 2.7 million U.S. service members who served in Vietnam, more than 58,000 were killed and more than 304,000 were wounded.
As the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) joins the nation’s salute, the agency reflects on the commissaries that provided the benefit in that war zone.
The U.S. Navy operated the first American commissary in Saigon in 1959. Several branches of commissaries later opened in Cholon, Newport, Long Binh, and near Tan Son Nhut Air Base. These military commissaries served American service personnel and their families, as well as news reporters, contract workers and government employees stationed in South Vietnam.
American military family members were evacuated from South Vietnam after the expansion of hostilities and the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964. This shift in population caused a change in commissary patronage.
Initially, the Saigon Commissary could not accommodate the thousands of incoming combat troops scattered all over South Vietnam, so many of those troops were given separate rations pay to allow them to shop on the local economy. As the war expanded so did the availability of products in commissaries.
In April 1966, the U.S. Army took over running the commissaries in South Vietnam. The commissaries remained in operation after the 1973 ceasefire because many American personnel were still there in non-combat and embassy missions. Commissary operations ended on April 30, 1975, as communist forces overran Saigon and the U.S. evacuated American and Vietnamese support personnel.
At DeCA, supporting the military is part of the DNA of its workforce, with more than 65 percent of commissary employees having a direct connection to the military as a veteran, a retiree, a military family member or a reservist.
“We are honoring ‘family’ when we salute our Vietnam War-era veterans,” said Navy Command Master Chief Mario Rivers, senior enlisted advisor to the DeCA director. “We encourage everyone to do their part in honoring these veterans and their families.
“For Vietnam veterans who are disabled and can shop in our stores, we want them to know their commissary is here to deliver savings of at least 25% on their grocery bill.”
-DeCA-
About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees, disabled veterans and other authorized patrons and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which supports the costs of building, modernizing and sustaining commissary facilities. A core military family support element and valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military services and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
| Date Taken: | 03.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.26.2025 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 493796 |
| Location: | FORT GREGG-ADAMS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 738 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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