ENDINGS

The 7^th May seem to have been a day of endings. In 1945 on the 7^th May General Jodl, on behalf of Germany, singed unconditional surrender terms at Allied Headquarters in Rheims, France, ending its participation in World War II.

On the 7^th May 1954, 9 years later, the Batlle of Dien Bien Phu ended with the Vietnamese forces overrunning French colonial forces.

President Gerald R. Ford announced on 7th May, 1975 that the Vietnam Era had ended.

Vietnam Era is a term used by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs to classify veterans of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam Era is a considered to have begun in 1964 and ended in 1975. The U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of Defence and the Department of Veterans Affairs elected to designate those years as such to accord special privileges to all persons who served the country's armed forces during that time. Similar designations have been made for other periods of war.

Because the beginning and end of the Vietnam War was rather ill defined, given its characteristics, it was necessary for the Federal government to set forth exact years of the conflict. The years contained in the Vietnam Era therefore do not necessarily coincide with the dates of any historical events prior to or after the war. However, for a number of reasons it was necessary to declare dates for that era. Military personnel who served during that period are said to have been on active duty during the Vietnam Era no matter where they may have been stationed around the world.

Various departments of federal, state and local governments as well as private employers often give Vietnam war era and other veterans special consideration regarding employment and sometimes assign extra qualifying points to veterans.