GMC News

Georgia Military College will honor those brave individuals who served our nation in the Vietnam War with a Commemoration Ceremony and Parade on Friday, November 14 at 2:30 p.m. on Grant Parade.  The guest speaker will be Lieutenant General (R.) Claude Mick Kicklighter, GMC alumnus and Executive Director of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration.

Vietnam Veterans and family members from middle Georgia will be honored and invited to join cadets during the pass-in-review segment of the parade. The Reviewing Officer role will be deferred to the honored veterans in attendance. Presidential and "City of Milledgeville Georgia" proclamations honoring the veterans will be read.

Immediately following the parade, a Vietnam Veterans memorial bench will be dedicated on the north side of Sibley-Cone Library.

Georgia Military College became a Commemorative Partner of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration, which began as part of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, to assist a grateful nation in thanking and honoring our Vietnam Veterans and their families and recognizing their service, valor, and sacrifice.

Pictured:  COL Fred Van Horn, USA (Ret.), GMC Executive Vice President, LtGen Claude Mick Kicklighter, USA (Ret.), GMC alumnus and Executive Director of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration, CPT Keith Eisenberger, GMC Military Science Instructor, LtGen William B. Caldwell, IV, President of Georgia Military College.

The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration Objectives:

1. To thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war (POW), or listed as missing in action (MIA), for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans.
2. To highlight the service of the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and the contributions of Federal agencies and governmental and non-governmental organizations that served with, or in support of, the Armed Forces.
3. To pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front by the people of the United States during the Vietnam War.
4. To highlight the advances in technology, science, and medicine related to military research conducted during the Vietnam War.
5. To recognize the contributions and sacrifices made by the allies of the United States during the Vietnam War.

Vietnam War Facts and Figures:

8.7 million Americans served on active duty

7,391,000 Vietnam War veterans are alive today

228,000 Georgians served

1,584 Georgians were killed in action

8,534 Georgians were wounded in action

21 Georgians were held as prisoners of war

30 Georgians are still unaccounted for

22 Georgia MIAs have been repatriated