Why ‘SALUTE’?
Memorial Day, the federal holiday dedicated to those who died while serving in the country’s armed forces, is a few days away. People will take time that day to remember their sacrifices.
Honoring those members of the armed forces starts with this special section today and Friday’s Salute concert on the lawn of the Bartholomew County Courthouse. The Vietnam War is the theme for both.
The U.S. ground war in Vietnam started in 1965 — 51 years ago — and it wasn’t until 1975 that the war ended. Nearly 60,000 U.S. service members died in the war, including more than two dozen from Bartholomew County. Biographies of those men are in this section, as are profiles of soldiers who were fortunate to survive.
The stories are intended to provide a better understanding of what service members experienced while in Vietnam and what life has been like since then for those who survived.
— Kirk Johannesen, assistant managing editor
