KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — March 29 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day, an official recognition that came decades after the last U.S. soldiers came home. 

Veterans Cup, a Triad nonprofit that supports veterans and their families, marked the occasion with a Vietnam War Veterans Day Welcome Home ceremony at the Carolina Field of Honor.

Master of ceremonies and Vietnam War veteran Lewis Pleasants said the day brings a mix of emotions.

Pleasants said he enlisted in 1966, and in 1969, the U.S. Navy corpsman was deployed to the 3rd Marines in Vietnam as an operating room scrub technician. 

He said it’s taken decades to formally receive a welcome home from the country they served. 

“I will never forget the looks, the stares, the just, almost total disdain that people had for Vietnam veterans. It was awful,” Pleasants said. 

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the last American combat troops left South Vietnam 50 years ago – on March 29, 1973. The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act, which created the national day of honor, didn’t become law until 2017.

“We were over there to deter communist aggression. We wanted to wipe it out, but it was a political war as well,” Pleasants said. “I saw veterans spit on, literally.” 

He said he is thankful for his time in the military and for the day of recognition, but it is bittersweet. 

“The ones that never saw it and made it home, but they didn’t get the recognition. I feel as much for them as anybody,” Pleasants said. 

Veterans Cup leadership said the organization is also advocating to establish Gulf War Veterans Recognition Day.