Comments and Tags
Be the first to comment on this item!
Souvenirs ➔ Welcome Banner, Lz Michigan Welcome Vietnam Veterans
Identifier:
2011.22.2Description:
Cloth banner with grommets in four corners. Dark green ground with yellow lettering.;The protracted war the United States fought in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975 created significant anti-war sentiments at home and veterans who served in this unpopular war often found themselves in an untenable position upon their return home. The organizers of the Welcome Home LZ Michigan special event that was held on Saturday, July 3, 2010 in Comstock Park's Fifth Third Ballpark wanted to give the veterans from this unpopular war the homecoming they deserved. The LZ Michigan event honored hundreds of Vietnam veterans and their families, providing them a safe Landing Zone. The event included counselors, memorials, recognition of current service members, exhibits, speakers, documentaries, and music. The Museum is collecting some of the key components from the event to help document this very special moment when hundreds of members of the West Michigan community came out to show their appreciation for the sacrifice these veterans made for their country over forty years ago. The collection includes a large floor map of the Theatre of War in Southeast Asia that veterans were allowed to walk on to reflect and if they chose, sign their name and write a personal note. It also includes banners where messages from those who did not serve were collected; and a small group of commemorative items documenting the special July 3, 2010 LZ Michigan event. This event was the second of its kind in the country, modeled after the LZ Lambeau event held the previous year in Green Bay Wisconsin.;Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans;As described in the LZ Michigan Commemorative Program, the Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. U.S. involvement began in 1959 as advisors, and with the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson ordered the first U.S. ground troops into Vietnam in March 1965. Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the American public's support for the war and a growing anti-war sentiment grew during the 1960s that resulted in numerous protests on college campuses and in major cities throughout the U.S.The 2010 LZ Michigan event was the second event of its kind in the country, modeled after the LZ Lambeau event held the previous year in Green Bay Wisconsin that drew tens of thousand of people.