(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The final U.S. combat troops withdrew from Vietnam 51 years ago, and veterans and city officials marked that occasion Friday with the unveiling of a newly renovated memorial along the Riverwalk.
Mayor Brandon Johnson declared March 29 as the official Vietnam Veterans Day in the city of Chicago. To commemorate the day, dozens of Vietnam veterans gathered at the Chicago Remembers Vietnam Memorial along The Riverwalk.
"This memorial is so important. It has the names of 2,936 Illinoisans that were killed in Vietnam," said former alderman James Balcer, a Vietnam veteran.
He said it's great to see improvements to the memorial, after years of deferred maintenance. Repairs include the highlighting of names on the monument, and a future cleaning and inspections schedule will help keep it in good repair.
"There's a lot of things you can invest in, but how can you put a price tag on people that died for the country? Why not have a memorial? You have to speak up and you have to participate, and that's what this is all about," Balcer said.
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