The VFW, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the VFW Auxiliary and the Veterans Day Parade Committee are coming together to host an event, held from 12 pm to 2 pm following the VFW Flea Market, on Sunday, March 26 at 2821 E. Prospect Avenue.

This particular event is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the return of the last POWs from North Vietnam; the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War conflict; and the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.

All veterans and their families are invited to attend the flea market in the morning, then a complimentary barbecue lunch will be held from 12 pm to 2 pm. Service officers will be on hand to assist veterans in need.

The event following will have a complementary barbecue dinner and entertainment.

The following are some information on the anniversaries this year.

Korea The de facto ending of the Korean War was with the Korean Armistice Agreement signed on July, 27, 1953. The United States was discussing terms for an agreement to end the Korean War by mid-December of 1950. Talks concerning an armistice started on July 10, 1951 in Kaesong with the two primary negotiators being Chief of Army Staff General Nam Il, a North Korean deputy premier, and United States Vice Admiral Charles Turner Joy. After a two-week period, a five-part agenda was agreed upon.

The items discussed were the following: 1. Adoption of an agenda. 2. Fixing a military demarcation line between the two sides to establish a demilitarized zone as a basic condition for the cessation of hostilities.

3. Concrete arrangements for realization of a ceasefire including the composition, authority and functions of a supervisory organization to carry out the terms of a truce and armistice.

4. Arrangements relating to prisoners of war.

5. Recommendations to the governments of countries concerned on both sides.

A problematic negotiation point was the repatriation of POWs. The Communists held 10,000 POWs, while the United Nations Command (UNC) held 150,000 and many Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) and Korean People’s Army (KPA) soldiers refused to be repatriated to the north, which was unacceptable to the Chinese and North Koreans.

The armistice was signed on July 27 by United States Army Lieutenant General William Harrison Jr. and General Mark W. Clark representing the UNC, and North Korea leader Kim Ilsung and General Nam Il.

Vietnam On March 26, 1973, the JMC (Joint Military Commission) agrees that the last of the American POWs (including nine held in Laos) would be released, and the remaining 5,000 combat troops would withdraw in the next two days. The White House declared, “This does and will end the United States presence in Vietnam.”

On March 27, the final POW release began. 32 POWs held by the Viet Cong (VC) as well as nine Americans and a Canadian missionary held by Laos, were among the first let go. Hanoi agreed to help in the recovery of missing and dead US servicemen.

By March 29, the last US combat forces departed South Vietnam with 7200 Department of Defense civilian employees remaining in-country.

Iraq The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by the United States-led coalition known as the Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) also often referred to as the Coalition forces.

The US, joined by the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland launched a “shock and awe” bombing campaign that quickly overwhelmed Iraqi forces. Saddam Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of 2003 and Hussein was executed three years later on Dec. 30, 2003.

The resulting power vacuum resulted in a widespread civil war between Shias and Sunnis, as well as an insurgency that emerged to oppose coalition forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government.

US troops were officially withdrawn on Dec. 18, 2011. The US would become reinvolved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition with the main phase of the conflict concluding with the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2017, but a low-level ISIL insurgency is ongoing in rural north parts of the country.

Once again, the VFW Flea Market will be held in the morning on Sunday, March 26 with the barbecue lunch and entertainment from 12 pm to 2 pm.