For Ron Lewis, National Vietnam War Veterans Day is not just a date on the calendar. For the New Glarus-area veteran, it is a day to remember those who never made it home, honor those who did, and reflect on a war that shaped the rest of his life.

Lewis, who serves as president of Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Chapter Three, said March 29 still carries deep meaning for Vietnam veterans. National Vietnam War Veterans Day is observed each year on that date because March 29, 1973, marked the departure of the last U.S. combat troops from Vietnam and the release of the last acknowledged American prisoners of war. The annual observance was formally established in federal law in 2017, after an earlier presidential proclamation in 2012.