Vietnam War veterans were asked to participate in Seattle’s Memorial Day parade for the first time in 1984. Dressed in fatigues, a contingent of about 50 Vietnam veterans marched at the front of the parade, a spot reserved for them by parade organizers, the Veterans Memorial Association. Leading over 50 other participating groups, they marched from Broad Street to University Street along Alaskan Way before being greeted with cheers at the reviewing stand.

Here, Vietnam veteran Chris Loew carries the American flag and Ron Kess holds a Vietnam Veterans of American Chapter 102 flag during the 1984 Memorial Day Parade in Seattle.

Caption information source: “Viet Vets in from the Cold” by Rita Hibbert, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 29, 1984, p. 1.