PRESS RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Release	August 5, 2013	No. 13-015   Contact: Mokie Porter301-585-4000, Ext. 146
Vietnam Veterans of America 16th National Convention Opening Event: Wreath Laying at Jacksonville, Florida, Vietnam Monument
(Washington, D.C.)--The first formal event of Vietnam Veterans of America's biennial 16th National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, will take place on Tuesday afternoon, August 13, at 2:30 p.m., when VVA's national officers join with the color guard of the Nicholas J. Cutinha VVA Chapter 1046, Duval County, to lay a wreath at the Vietnam Monument, located at the corner of Market and Bay Streets. The ceremony is open to the public. "It's traditional for VVA to honor local War dead before we get on to the business of our National Leadership Conferences and National Conventions," said VVA President John Rowan. "It is something we take very solemnly and seriously. It is our honor to recognize those Americans from the Jacksonville area who paid the ultimate price in service to our nation. And we will honor our Prisoners of War and those still Missing in Action." Rowan will be joined by Nancy Switzer, National President of Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America. The Convention Opening Ceremonies will take place on Wednesday morning, August 14, at 9:00 am, at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville-Riverfront, located at 225 E. Coastline Drive. More than 850 delegates from VVA local chapters across the nation will join hundreds of other Vietnam veterans and guests in Jacksonville for the National Convention. Following the opening ceremonies, the delegates will meet in convention to debate national resolutions and Constitutional Amendments. Later in the week, they will vote for VVA's national leaders—officers and board members—for the upcoming two years. VVA's supporting organization, the Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, will be holding their biennial national convention at the Hyatt in Jacksonville, beginning August 14.
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families.  VVA's founding principle is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”