Even a half-century after the end of the Vietnam War, Stephen Rosedale still remembers what it felt like trudging through rice paddies with his fellow U.S. soldiers in oppressive heat and humidity, slogging through thigh-high mud as leeches crawled up their legs.

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) - Vietnam vets along with their friends and family came together to be honored on Friday in Augusta. The Maine Bureau of Veterans Services hosted their annual National Vietnam War Veterans Day Ceremony in the Hall of Flags. Saturday, March 29th marks 52 years since the last U.S. combat troops left the Republic of Vietnam.

Those who served during the Vietnam War were honored during a ceremony at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.