A ceremony honoring Texas’ Vietnam War veterans will take place at the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 30th. State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and State Representative Wayne Smith will join monument committee chairman Robert Floyd to lay a wreath at the monument in tribute to their fellow Texans who served in Vietnam. Hinojosa served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam and Smith and Floyd served in the Army.
March 29th is the anniversary of the day the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam in 1973 and has been legislatively designated as Texas Vietnam Veterans Day. The Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument was dedicated March 29, 2014. This year’s ceremony will be held on Monday when the legislature is in session.
The Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument was approved by the Texas legislature in 2005 through legislation co-sponsored by Hinojosa and Smith. The bronze sculpture honors all Texans who served in the American military and memorializes the 3,417 who died or are missing in the Vietnam War.
The public is invited to attend the short ceremony at the monument, which is located on the northeast grounds of the Capitol complex near the Sam Houston Building.