GREEN COVE SPRINGS — It took 50 years, but Vietnam veterans were warmly revered during Saturday’s ceremony at the TAPS Monument in the historic triangle.

A generation of soldiers who fought in Southeast Asia were honored on Saturday, March 29, during the Vietnam Veterans Day Ceremony, including the 21 from Clay County who died while serving the nation. Their service wasn’t as profoundly appreciated then as it is now.

Not only were they saluted by fellow service members, federal, state, county and city officials and the community, but members of the South Vietnamese community.

This year’s service commemorated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The last combat troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973. North Vietnam still had as many as 300,000 soldiers in South Vietnam, and they constantly broke the terms of the Paris Peace Accords, so the war continued until the South Vietnamese surrendered on April 30, 1975.

Tina Pham’s father was a soldier in the South Vietnamese Army. She was a guest speaker at the ceremony and talked about the horrific conditions Republic of Vietnam residents faced at the hands of the Viet Cong.

“I would like to recognize my brother, Jason Pham, and my sister, Tracy Pham,” she said. “We are the proud children of the Second Lieutenant, my father, who served in the Vietnam War in ‘62 and ‘63 alongside all the Vietnam vets.”

She said her son asked a question that made her think: Why do they live in the United States and not in Vietnam?

“It was a very simple question, yet it held a weight of a history that many of our young generation don't fully understand,” Tina said, “and to answer him, I had to take him back to the life of his grandfather, so I told him. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, my father, your grandfather, like so many, many other South Vietnamese soldiers who fought for their freedom, was imprisoned in a hard labor camp, stripped of his rights, his dignity and nearly his life; he endured years of suffering. My mom, your grandmother, saved every bit of her rations of bread to take it to prison to keep him alive.

“But even after he was released, freedom remained out of reach. The new communist government continued to oppress him, leaving him with no future, no rights and no way to provide for his family. As the children of these soldiers, we were blacklisted for colleges and all official work, official work. So, he had to make the ultimate sacrifice, risking everything to escape Vietnam in search of freedom. In 1968, when I was only 6 years old, he fled on foot through the deadly jungles of Cambodia, knowing that capture meant certain deaths to him. Then he boarded a small fishing boat bound for Thailand, facing the vast, unforgiving ocean.  He made it safely to America in 1987.”

The Pham family moved to Jacksonville in 1993, and she recently founded the Asian Chamber of North Florida. Her organization also is partnering with the Vietnam Veterans of America on projects.

“Together, we are going to do great things,” said Florida VVA President Gary Newman.

Especially important, Pham brought a heartfelt message from her country to a generation of soldiers that is slowly dwindling.

“This year has marked the 50 years since the fall of Saigon, a painful anniversary for millions of Vietnamese like us who lost our country, our freedom,” she said. “It also marks 50 years since many Vietnam War veterans make the ultimate sacrifice. We are forever grateful for your courage and the price you pay. And since 2013, our family had the privilege to connecting with all the Vietnam vets in Northeast Florida. We learn more about the unfair treatment that you have faced upon returning home and how many of you are still carrying the fear that the Vietnamese people harbor, the resentment toward you for abandoning us.

"But as I am standing here before you today, with everyone here witnessing this, mission one is to preserve my father’s legacy by bringing awareness of the Vietnam War to the younger generations in our community. Two, to stay connected with the Vietnam War veterans and to ensure that you know the Vietnamese people deeply appreciate your bravery and sacrifice.”

An estimated 300 attended Saturday’s ceremony, the largest gathering since the TAPS Monument was installed in 2017. Guests included County Commissioners Betsy Condon, Jim Renninger and Kristin Burke, County Manager Howard Wanamaker, County Clerk of Court Tara Green, Green Cove Springs Mayor Steven Kelley, Sheriff Michelle Cook, Green Cove Springs Interim Police Chief Shawn Hines, Florida State Vietnam Veterans of America President Gary Newman, Superintendent David Broskie, Clay County Vietnam Veterans of America President David Treffinger and Pham.

Another distinguished guest was U.S.  Air Force pilot William G. Byrns. His F-4 was shot down in Vietnam, and he spent 10 months, five days and 12 hours in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" as a prisoner-of-war" until he was released."

Sheriff Cook read the names of all 21 from Clay County who died in Vietnam as Chief Hines rang a bell after each name was said; Flagler College History Professor Dr. Michael Butler spoke about the significance of the military and the Vietnam War; Jim Steele performed "Taps;" and local VVA President Treffinger and Karen Smith each received one of the highest honors – Medals of Achievement – presented by the Vietnam Veterans of America.