WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today participated in the Vietnam War 50^th Anniversary Congressional Ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.

The Congressional Ceremony, held fifty years after President Lyndon B. Johnson created the Vietnam Service Medal to recognize service in Southeast Asia and fifty-six years after the first U.S. service members were killed in Vietnam, kicks off two years of nationwide, community-based events to honor Vietnam veterans.

Isakson spoke on the importance of honoring Vietnam veterans and thanked all those who will be hosting events in the next two years.

“This is a personal day for me, as it is for every member here today, to honor those who sacrificed, died or were injured during a terrible crisis, many of whom came home without the recognition they deserved,” said Isakson. “This ceremony is all about ensuring that fifty years later, they get that recognition.”

Click here for pictures from the event.

###

The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress.

Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000 veterans.