EAST MOLINE, Illinois-- In East Moline people gathered to remember the fallen and those who served in the Vietnam War.
"It's an event for us to come together in honor of our brothers who've died in combat in Vietnam," says Terry Lynch from Chapter 299 of the Vietnam Veterans for America (VVA).
March 29th is the official date for Vietnam Veterans day declared by former President Obama back in 2005. At that time it was only an act of congress, and President donald trump signed the bill in 2017 to make it a permanent day of remembrance.
And on that day in 1973 was when the last U.S combat troops left for Vietnam.
"We waited for so many years to get any kind of recognition or thank you and I think this, you know, helps a lot of us," says Gunter Terronez of the Mexican American Veterans Association.
According to the VVA more than 150 local Iowa and Illinois troops died during the war.
"We do this because we want to continue the honoring of the area veterans who died in the Vietnam War," says Lynch.