AFA Connect
AFA's Vietnam War 50th anniversary commemoration
A guide to the veterans' accounts, POW recognition, chapter commemorations, and historical reporting gathered for AFA's Vietnam War 50th anniversary.
What did AFA commemorate?
The Air & Space Forces Association brought together Vietnam-era Airmen, families, Chapters, and partner organizations to recognize service and the homecoming that many veterans did not receive when the war ended. Its Vietnam: 50 Years Later collection is an archive of commemorative programs and firsthand accounts, not an announcement of a new 2026 event. Our AFA history timeline provides the wider Association chronology, including its 1969 coverage of prisoners of war and those missing in Vietnam.
Operation Homecoming and Air Force POWs
In 1973, Operation Homecoming returned 591 American prisoners of war, including 325 Airmen, according to AFA's POW remembrance. That page profiles five former POW Airmen whom AFA recognized at its 2023 Air, Space & Cyber Conference: Michael Brazelton, Bob Certain, Lee Ellis, Tom Kirk, and Tom Hanton. Their individual accounts describe different aircraft, missions, captivity periods, and lives after return. Read the official profiles for those details rather than treating the five men as a complete list of those who returned.
How did AFA mark the anniversary?
AFA's Welcome Home archive preserves a National Mall program with three days of conversations involving Vietnam-era veterans and family members. Its recorded panels cover subjects such as Operation Linebacker II, Wild Weasels, reconnaissance, combat support, and family perspectives. On January 13, 2024, AFA and supporting organizations held a separate National Cathedral commemoration honoring Vietnam veterans and Gold Star families and renewing attention to those still missing. These are records of past events; use the current AFA Connect events calendar for upcoming activities.
Where can I read the historical record?
AFA's Stories from Vietnam collection points to contemporaneous Air Force and Space Digest reporting and later Air & Space Forces Magazine histories. It includes coverage of the air war, the families of missing Americans, rescue personnel, and an Air Force-focused almanac. Those articles offer perspectives from different decades; their dates matter when assessing what was known at the time. Follow the linked original article for its complete text and attribution.
What about local Chapters?
The anniversary collection also records AFA Chapter commemorations. AFA’s past-events archive links to accounts from local Chapters and the 2024 National Cathedral program; it is a record of completed events, not a current calendar. Its Chapter participation page explains how Chapters could join the federal commemorative-partner program and submit event stories. That program's stated event commitment ran through 2025, and the page retains older forms and committee names. Treat it as an archive, not current registration instructions. To find a Chapter today, use our public Chapter directory and confirm new opportunities with the Chapter or AFA's live field staff.
Sources and review date
Reviewed October 13, 2026 against AFA's Vietnam 50 overview, past-events archive, Operation Homecoming profiles, National Mall archive, Cathedral record, magazine archive, and Chapter resources. AFA and the original publishers retain the complete records and media.