HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Some members of Holland’s South Vietnamese community, and officials from around the state gathered to honor sacrifices U.S. and South Vietnamese military made during the Vietnam war.
Nghia Le, president of the Holland Vietnamese Community Association, says it’s a time to remember all those who died and went missing.
The 2 p.m. ceremony comes before the 43rd anniversary of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, which signalled North Vietnam’s victory.
Le and many others present at Saturday’s memorial said the sacrifices of so many cannot be forgotten — and the gratitude to the U.S. for taking in so many South Vietnamese refugees must always be remembered.
Mayor Nancy DeBoer attended and spoke on Saturday, the first Holland mayor since Al McGeehan to do so. (Former Mayor Bob Vandevusse’s brief term did not include the month of April.)
