Special Notice:
If you are a veteran in emotional crisis and need help RIGHT NOW, call the VA crisis line at 1-800-273-8255, available 24/7, and tell them you are a veteran. All calls are CONFIDENTIAL!
Who We Are
Founded in 1978, Vietnam Veterans of America is the only national Vietnam Veterans organization congressionally chartered and exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA is organized as a not-for-profit corporation and is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Service Code
VVA'S FOUNDING PRINCIPLE
"Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."
GOALS
VVA's goals are to promote and support the full range of issues important to Vietnam veterans, to create a new identity for this generation of veterans, and to change public perception of Vietnam veterans.
- Over 70,000 individual members
- 48 state councils
- 650 local chapters
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
- Aggressively advocate on issues important to veterans
- Seek full access to quality health care for veterans
- Identify the full range of disabling injuries and illnesses incurred during military service
- Hold government agencies accountable for following laws mandating veteran’s health care
- Create a positive public perception of Vietnam veterans
- Seek the fullest possible accounting of America’s POW/MIAs
- Support the next generation of America's war veterans
- Serve our communities
Symbolism of the VVA Flag
The VVA flag is an elegant presentation of American veterans’ service in the Vietnam War. VVA Flags are proudly displayed at all Vietnam Veterans of America meetings and functions and in Veterans Affairs Committee chambers of both the U.S. Senate and the US House of Representatives.
- The background color is
golden yellow, the primary color of the Vietnam Service Ribbon.
- In the "hoist" of the flag, the seventeen brown stars, arranged in three vertical rows, represent the seventeen official campaigns of the Vietnam War.
- The insignia of VVA, including the identification inscription Vietnam Veterans of America is centered between the campaign stars and the "fly" of the flag. The VVA insignia incorporates the colors and stripes of the Vietnam Service Ribbon, which was awarded to all men and women who served in Southeast Asia and the contiguous waters or air space there-over from July 4, 1965, through March 28, 1973.
Surrounding the insignia, in natural colors, is a wreath containing a laurel branch and a sheaf of rice stalks. The two are tied together at the base with a strand of black barbed wire. The rice represents Southeast Asia, and the laurel signifies honor to all who served there. The black barbed wire serves as a reminder of the POWs and MIAs who are still unaccounted for