March 29 was proclaimed Vietnam Veterans Day in 2012 by President Obama, 50 years after the U.S. first engaged in military activity in Vietnam. It recognizes March 29, 1973 as the day the last U.S. troops left Vietnam.

In President Obama's proclamation he thanked Vietnam veterans for their years of service:

"Eleven years of combat left their imprint on a generation. Thousands returned home bearing shrapnel and scars; still more were burdened by the invisible wound of post-traumatic stress, of Agent Orange, of memories that would never fade. More than 58,000 laid down their lives in service to our nation. Now and forever, their names are etched in to two faces of black granite a lasting memorial to those who bore conflict's greatest cost."