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Exhibit pays tribute to the more than 200,000 Virginia vets who fought in Vietnam

The Virginia War Memorial display comes a half-century after the war's end. It relies on first-person oral histories from the troops who were there.

RICHMOND, Va. — Some local Vietnam War veterans are receiving long overdue recognition.

"50 Years Beyond: The Vietnam Veteran Experience" is the newest major exhibit at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.

More than 200,000 Vietnam veterans are living in Virginia today. 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords which ended the war.

More than 8.5 million Americans served in the war. More than 58,000 were killed in action.

"50 Years Beyond: The Vietnam Veteran Experience" features personal stories, photos and videos of Virginia Vietnam veterans from every corner of the Commonwealth.

Eight Hampton Roads residents are among the 50 Virginians honored, including Army veteran Udo Goff and Marine Corps veteran Calvin Brown Junior, of Norfolk, and Air Force veteran Frank Zahar, of Virginia Beach.

What makes it so powerful, War Memorial Director Dr. Clay Mountcastle says, is the vets tell their stories in their own words.

"What struck me is so many of these veterans were appreciative that someone finally was asking them about the questions that they were waiting to answer for 50 years now," he said.

Mountcastle continued: "It's not about the war as a whole. It's not an examination of the conflict, the causes, the operations or those things It's about Vietnam veterans. The first person account is the single best way to preserve history and get an idea of what actually happened and what it meant to people."

"The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017" was signed into law by former President Donald Trump, designating every March 29 as "National Vietnam War Veterans Day."

The exhibit began in January and will run through the spring of 2024. Admission and parking are free.

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