Thursday is Vietnam Veterans Day in Oklahoma, and local organizations are planning free events.
Tulsa’s chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution will host an honor ceremony at 2 p.m. at VFW Post 577. Veterans and their families will be presented commemorative pins and coins. Chapter President Ron Painter said decades ago, Vietnam veterans were often denigrated.
"That is why this commemoration came about, was to thank those service men and women and have a community thank you, a community welcome home," Painter said.
"I was not a veteran. My father was not a veteran, so that gives me an opportunity on a personal level to thank someone that's doing something for me — to go out there and put their life on the line, make those sacrifices, the families that sacrifice and support them while they're gone for our betterment."
The VFW post is at 1109 E Sixth St. The honor ceremony is free and open to the public.
The Military History Center at 112 N Main St. in Broken Arrow is hosting a flag-raising ceremony at 4 p.m. Executive Director Keith Brown asked veterans to come with their families, kids and grandkids.
"We want to recognize the veterans and their service, their sacrifices, and let the younger people know why they have freedom today," Brown said. "Freedom, it has been said often, is not free."
The flag ceremony is also free and open to the public.
At 7 p.m., the Rolling Thunder motorcycle group will host an empty chair ceremony at the nearby First United Methodist Church.
The third Thursday in March is Vietnam Veterans Day in Oklahoma.
