George H. Duell Jr. Army Reserve Ambassador, presented 50th anniversary commemorative pins to local Vietnam veterans on Monday.

The ceremony took place at the Lehighton American Legion Post 314 at the conclusion of the their normal meeting."The presentation was something that was long overdue, something that the veterans have been neglected to receive for years," Dennis Ockenhouse, Commander of Post 314, said.Duell serves as the official representative for the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Committee from the Department of Defense. Before handing out the pins at the end of the veterans' meeting, he provided some background about the struggle to appropriately honor U.S. war veterans.The first group to receive recognition were those who served in the Korean War, who received a certificate."When everybody got the certificate, they said, 'This is great, how do we pin it on?' " Duell said.Following this, the Department of Defense considered physical medals to accompany certificates for Cold War veterans. However, they were never officially designed or funded. The next opportunity came about with the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War."They all accepted the fact that certificates just weren't enough," Duell said.This led to creation of the Vietnam veteran lapel pin, featuring an eagle next to six stars. The stars represent the six allies during the war: Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and the United States. This is bordered by a laurel wreath in a blue circle and the words "Vietnam War Veteran." The reverse of the pin reads, "A Grateful Nation Thanks and Honors You."However, Duell still saw a problem with the presentation at the state VFW convention."I was honestly disappointed that somebody just sat at a table and asked, 'Are you a Vietnam veteran?' If they said 'yes,' they handed you a pin, and that was it. That is not the respect or recognition that should be brought forth," Duell said.At the American Legion, Duell personally presented a pin and shook the hand of each and every veteran, thanking them for their service."It's good to have someone like George Duell stand up for us and be part of the veterans organization that recognizes all veterans, but especially to recognize the Vietnam veterans," Ockenhouse said.