BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- It was an emotional day at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery as people gathered to honor the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Vietnam War.
- Vietnam War commemoration ceremony held Saturday
- Hundreds gathered at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery
- More than 500,000 Vietnam veterans live in Florida
Hundreds gathered to remember that 50 years ago things were much different.
Bob Bodine served in Vietnam from 1968 -1972. He said he along with thousands of others are still dealing with the aftermath like Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide used eliminate crops. But that's not all. Bodine said many still duck when they hear loud noises decades after leaving the war.
“It was a never-ending hide and go seek with things that go boom," Bodine said. "The time that's in service, I think about eight we had rockets incoming."
Being alongside so many of his brothers is comforting because they all share the experience of fighting for their life and the country. And this event is to honor Bodine and other Vietnam veterans, prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Decades later Bodine still remembers how excited he was to be back home in the United States.
“I was happy to go home, happy to sit down and happy not to hear booms,” he said.
According to Florida Department of Veteran Affairs, there are more than 519,000 Vietnam-era veterans living in the Sunshine State. In 1991 George H.W. Bush signed into law the Agent Orange Act, which gives those who get diseases related to the herbicide access to treatment as the result of wartime service.