Vietnam War Cease-fire: Jan.: 27, 1973, Thank you for your service

Steve Walker, Vietnam 1970-71

Vietnam War Cease-fire: Jan. 27, 1973

​Thank you for your service to our country.

From August 5, 1964 through March 28, 1973, many of you, our Veteran brothers and sisters were among the 8,744,000 active duty U.S. military personnel who proudly served our Nation during the war in Vietnam, with 2,594,000 of you serving within the borders of South Vietnam, some deployed as early as 1954 and leaving as late as 1975. The Vietnam Era also includes all Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam as early as February 28, 1961.

On January 27, 1973 the Paris Peace Accords were signed declaring a cease-fire in Vietnam. The U.S. government, South Vietnam and North Vietnam governments pledged to "respect the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Vietnam as recognized by the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Vietnam."

The U.S. further agreed to continue withdrawing troops, which resulted in a complete removal of soldiers by March 29, 1973.

The "Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" was the official title of the signed text.

Over several years beginning as early as 1961, the U.S. escalated its forces in the Vietnam war assisting South Vietnam in opposition to communism - to deter Soviet-based expansion and control throughout Southeast Asia.

By 1968, there were 529,000 Americans fighting in Vietnam. By the end of the war over 58,200 American soldiers had given their lives fighting for our country.