LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — It's a day of remembrance for those who gave their all.
Tom Lynch, a Marine and Vietnam Veteran of Plains, says he came out to honor those he knew.
"It's a great honor for me because I knew several people that were on that monument, and I grew up with some of them. It was a great bunch of people that I met with over seas," said Lynch.
The Daughters of the American Revolution Wyoming Valley Chapter read the names from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial near the Luzerne County Courthouse of those who never made it home.
It was part of the group's annual wreath laying ceremony for National Vietnam Veterans Day, which is Friday. Alice Keiner organized the event.
"I have a personal reason because one of the names is a family member. So I do want people to remember because he died three months before he was supposed to come home," she explained. Her 25-year-old cousin was killed in action.
It's a thank you that many Vietnam Veterans didn't receive when they first returned home from battle. Anthony Kowalski is a United States Marnie who served during the Vietnam era.
"I really appreciate what they did for me, and I'm still in the Marine Corps league, and I do as much as I can to honor them. We do funerals, parades," Kowalski said.
The ceremony is in commemoration of National Vietnam Veterans Day, which is Friday. However, the rain wasn't stopping surviving Vietnam Veterans from coming out to salute their own.
"Most of their family members have passed away now too. So the only ones who remember them are the ones like me who grew up with them," said Lynch.
A thank you that's coming decades later for a group who gave their all.
"Welcome back home and thank you for your service, means a lot to anybody," said Keiner.