AUBURN, Wash. — To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, veterans in Auburn were honored in a pinning ceremony by Washington Congresswoman Kim Schrier.
The Department of Defense has named Commemorative Partners to distribute lapel pins to Vietnam-era veterans.
Representative Schrier was selected to do the honor through 2025 in Washington State and presented veterans from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps with a special pin acknowledging their sacrifice in the Vietnam War.
“It’s been really hard for veterans to have two years where they couldn’t congregate and support each other, so it’s really nice to have some time to give these veterans some long overdue thanks and praise,” Schrier said.
Sarah Blum was the smallest of the bunch. She ended up as a nurse in the Army after the Air Force told her she was too short to be a flight nurse. “You had to be 5'2" to reach the top tier,” she said.
Blum served for five years as an operating room nurse, and said she was somehow destined to serve.
“I made a career booklet when I was nine years old. I remember in that little blue booklet that I was a military nurse. It was in my head and heart early,” she said.
Blum admitted being a female Vietnam veteran is unique and not many people associate women with the Vietnam veteran status.
“Nowadays, about 15% of our military is made up of women, and they are in combat, but that wasn’t the case in my day, and it’s important that we honor all of our veterans,” she said.
Wednesday's pinning ceremony is a part of a service that will happen through 2025 and is “a long overdue thank you and official welcome home for so many,” according to Schrier.
Several veterans in attendance remarked that they were happy to be recognized with respect after initially being met with scorn after returning from war.
“You may not understand what a veteran went through or even why they did what they were asked to do, but you should treat every Veteran with respect and appreciate their sacrifice,” Blum said.
Living U.S. veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time during the period of Nov. 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, regardless of location, are eligible to receive a lapel pin, and they will be distributed through Veterans Day 2025.
Residents can visit Congresswoman Schrier's website to request a future pinning ceremony for themselves or a loved one.