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.

Rochester, N.Y. The Veterans Outreach Center honored Vietnam veterans and their families Friday in celebration of Vietnam Veterans Day.

National Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony at the Gold Star Families Memorial Auditorium on the CT Veterans Affairs campus in Rocky Hill