“Welcome Home: Vietnam Veterans of America Detroit Chapter 9,” a multi-media exhibit now on view at the Detroit Historical Museum, tells the story of the first VVA chapter in Michigan and its myriad accomplishments since it was founded as Vietnam Veterans Michigan in 1980 and joined VVA in 1983. The exhibit opened June 27 and is on display through October 19 at the Museum in Midtown Detroit. “We are grateful that the story of Vietnam veterans and Detroit Chapter 9 will be told through this exhibit,” said Chapter President Paul Palazzolo. “We hope that everyone takes the time to learn about our service to country, veterans, and the community as a whole.”

Rutland, Vermont, Chapter One celebrated its 45th anniversary on June 14 with a banquet at the Franklin Center in Rutland. The chapter reports an all-time-high membership of 173, including some members who have transferred recently from VVA chapters in the state that have closed. Chapter directors Dick Doyle and Mike Murphy, who head the recruiting efforts, report that its members live in 30 communities throughout the state. The chapter received its VVA charter on April 15, 1980.

Munising, Michigan, Chapter 237 helped put together the 20th annual Veteran Fish Fry on July 25 at the State of Michigan’s D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette. Chapter members shared the fish preparation at the event, which included musical entertainment from the Munising City Band. “To put something like this on once a year is great, but to do this for 20 consecutive years is really a commitment,” said the Home’s administrator Ron Oja. “Just when you think the community can’t surprise you and you can’t see how much they appreciate you, stuff like this happens, so it really is an amazing event.”

Courtesy Chapter 1125

For the sixteenth year in a row, Fargo, North Dakota, Chapter 491 organized a Fourth of July Veterans 5 and 10K Run at the Cass County Historical Society’s Bonanzaville Museum and Village in West Fargo. On May 22, the chapter provided a Barbeque dinner at the 20th Annual Veterans Memorial event at Bonanzaville, which included the landing of an Army National Guard Medic Helicopter and patriotic music by the Red River Concert Band.

Members of Spokane, Washington, Inland Empire Chapter 979 hold regular Monday morning get-togethers for members and other veterans in the dining room at the Revel Spokane retirement community in Spokane Valley. Chapter members facilitate the gatherings, which recently have included a World War II veteran and two Korean War veterans. “They’re not official meetings,” Chapter President Bob Stepp told a local newspaper. “It’s just for camaraderie. All veterans are welcome to attend. We are one of the hundreds of [VVA] chapters nationwide who support various causes for veterans. Come swap your stories; our vets are interested.”

Courtesy Chapter 909

State officials in South Carolina unveiled two highway signs designating the Shaws Creek Bridge on U.S. Route 1 just north of Aiken as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge on July 3. The signs offer “a sense of reflection, healing, and perhaps a sense of peace,” Jay Reynolds, the South Carolina State Council Treasurer and Aiken, S.C., Chapter 1145 member who came up with the idea of the bridge-naming. Many Vietnam War veterans are “somewhat leery about speaking about their experiences,” Reynolds said, noting that the signs will serve as “a symbol of silent recognition.”

Butte County Chapter 582 brought The Moving Wall—the half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.—to Chico, California, in June where it was displayed 24/7 behind the local Elks Lodge. Health providers from the Chico Vet Center were on duty at The Wall during the entire visit, as well as volunteers who provided security. “This Wall visit in Chico [is] a therapy session for thousands, including affected families and friends,” said longtime chapter member Bob Mulholland. The site also featured a Chapter 582 tribute to 58 servicemembers from Butte, Glenn, and Tehama Counties who lost their lives in the war.

Courtesy Chapter 1024

Sussex County, Delaware, Chapter 1105 has inherited the restoration and upkeep of the Sussex County Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the village of College Park section of Georgetown, Del. The memorial, a large black granite stone engraved with the names of 26 local men who died in the war, was moved from outside the County Administration Building to the site two years ago by now-defunct Georgetown, Delaware, Chapter 546, which built and dedicated the memorial in 2004. Chapter 1105 is working on landscaping the memorial and encouraging more people to visit.

Courtesy Chapter 1024

Clinton Township, Michigan, Chapter 154’s Jack Thomas-Woody Horne Scholarship Committee Chair Dave Rocco presented scholarship awards at the chapter’s June meeting to ten deserving members’ grandchildren who will be furthering their education in the fall: Benjamin Aloia (Hope College), Alex Edgar (Valley State University), Marcus Edgar (Oakland Community College), Lorenzo Garrisi (Oakland University), Ava Hindle (Oakland University), William McSpadin (University of Northwestern Ohio), Lola Obeney (University of Michigan). Josephine MacLeod Roth (University of Alabama), Logan Tokarski (Oakland University), and Alisia Wucetich (Cornell University). Chapter members Tom Puruleski and Mike Schneider also served on the 2025 Scholarship Committee.

Leominster, Massachusetts, Chapter 116 awarded scholarships to 15 Leominster High School graduating seniors in a May ceremony at the Memorial Circle—a group of memorials honoring local servicemembers who died in conflicts from World War II to the Iraq War—in the city’s Carter Park.

Courtesy Chapter 1024

Greater Toledo Chapter 35 awarded $1,000 scholarships on June 8 to three deserving local high school graduates: Genoa High School’s Kaylyn Stahl, Clay High School’s Landon Eversman, and Maumee High School’s Brynn Maier. “All of the finalists were of high-caliber academic success and involved in service to their communities,” said the chapter’s Scholarship Committee Chair Dick Nolte.

Cumming, Georgia, Chapter 1030 presented five high school graduates with $5,000 scholarships on June 3. Each scholarship was presented in the name of a Georgia servicemember who perished in the Vietnam War. “Our membership is committed to assisting the community’s young people with the cost of their education while simultaneously honoring the memory of those Georgians who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War,” said Chapter President Ed Shoemaker. The recipients are Madeline Holder of West Forsyth High School (University of Georgia); Sabrina Lafferty of South Forsyth H.S. (Duke University); Andrew Garrard of North Forsyth H.S. (University of North Georgia); Tristan Cohen of Forsyth Central H.S. (University of Georgia); and Ella Clem, of North Forsyth H.S. (Georgia Tech). The honored servicemembers are Navy Lt. Orland Pender, Army Sgt. John Holt Parham, Army Warrant Officer George Thomas Condrey, Army Pfc. Claude McCan Jr., and Army Cpl. Harry Vaughan.

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