Vietnam Veterans Honored at Helena Capitol Rotunda Walk, Ceremony

Col. Ray Read stood inside a packed Montana Capitol rotunda Monday as a ceremony rooted in state law delivered what many Vietnam veterans never received when they returned from war: a public, official welcome home.

The Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Walk and ceremony, held March 30 at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, drew veterans, families, and community members for a procession through the Capitol grounds and into the rotunda, where chairs were arranged and, by Read's own account, filled.

"We had a great walk, we had a lot of people involved, just as you saw what is inside the rotunda here, we filled the chairs again, so it's just great," Read said.

The event's legal foundation dates to 2011, when the 62nd Montana Legislature enacted House Bill 255, establishing March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day in Montana. The date was chosen in reference to the 1973 Vietnam Peace Accords, which required U.S. forces to withdraw from the Republic of Vietnam within 60 days of the agreement's January 27 signing. For the veterans themselves, the gap between returning from Vietnam and receiving that recognition stretched more than four decades.

The scope of who Monday's ceremony honored is striking: more than 36,000 Montanans served in Vietnam. Of those, 267 were killed and 18 remain listed as prisoners of war or missing in action.

"What we want to do is make sure they are recognized, that they get closure, and there are a lot of times you just do not have that as an individual," Read said.

Around 1,850 Montanans who served in Vietnam were Native American. An eagle and flag song was performed Monday in their specific honor, and the Magpie Drummers were also part of the program. A POW/MIA wreath was placed in the rotunda for those still unaccounted for.

Brigadier General Renea V. Dorvall underscored the breadth of who the ceremony remembers: "To remember Vietnam service fully, men, women, all backgrounds, all sacrifices."

The Montana Department of Military Affairs, the Montana Military Museum, and American Legion posts organized the observance. Community groups used the occasion to connect veterans with VA and state support services on site, extending the day's formal recognition into practical assistance for those still navigating the benefits system.

Organizers have made intergenerational attendance a stated priority, ensuring that the service of Vietnam-era veterans passes to new audiences rather than receding with the generation that carried it.