Video Transcript
Hi I’m Bob Parsons and I’m proud to be an American entrepreneur, US Marine and a Vietnam veteran. I founded Yam Worldwide, Parsons Xtreme Golf and godaddy.com. I’m joined here today by this incredible group of veterans from all three companies.
This November the 10th marks the two hundred forty-second birthday of the United States Marine Corps, followed by Veterans Day on November the 11th. This year is also the 35th anniversary of the Vietnam Veteran’ Memorial wall, which will be commemorated with a week of special events held in Washington DC leading up the Veterans Day. As a tribute to these special dates in history, we’ve created a video to celebrate the men and women who defend this great country of ours.
We’re also partnering with the Semper Fi fund to provide financial support for wounded, critically ill and injured members of all branches of the US Armed Forces and their families. Last year with your help we raised more than 20 million dollars. This money changed the lives of veterans across the nation and we want to do even better this year.
Here’s how it works: visit semperfifund.org, give what you can, and the Bob and Renee Parsons foundation will match your donation dollar for dollar up to ten million dollars. Together we can raise even more than the twenty million dollars we raised last year to help the heroes who have sacrificed so much for all of us.
Now enjoy our annual birthday salute to the United States Marine Corps and if you have served or serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, know that this video was also for you. So happy birthday Mother Green, happy Veterans Day one and all, semper fi and a very special message to all of you from those of us who served in Vietnam, welcome home.
Vietnam veterans were the only troops, who fought for our country and we’re never welcomed home. Instead of ticker tape parades and large marching bands, many Vietnam vets upon returning home, were met by anti-war protesters and chastised them for their part in the Vietnam War. To recognize and remember our Vietnam vets, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built entirely with private donations and dedicated 35 years ago on Veterans Day.
The wall contains over 58,000 names of men and women who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. And so it is, the more than 58,000 memorialized by the wall, are there for eternity, whispering to all who served in the Vietnam War, what America couldn’t bring itself to say, “welcome home.”
The Vietnam Veteran’ Memorial is dedicated to the 2.7 million US. service members, both men and women who served in the Vietnam War. More than half of the service members listed on the wall were under the age of 22. The largest age group on the wall is made up of 19 year olds. A fifteen-year-old marine is the youngest name on the wall. The names of eight women, all nurses, appear on the wall. Nine hundred service members died on their first day in Vietnam. 1,400 service members died on their last day, their scheduled departure day. To this day names are still being added to the wall.
