Veterans salute as Taps is played during the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Ceremony at the Lejeune Memorial Gardens in Jacksonville, N.C., on April 25, 2015. 

The Vietnam War, which ended 40 years ago today with the fall of Saigon, will always be a painful chapter of American history. But the brave Americans who fought in the conflict, as well as their families, deserve our deepest appreciation and respect.