CHARLOTTE (AP) — Organizers hope thousands of veterans and their families will attend an event honoring Vietnam Veterans at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration is being hosted Saturday by the USO of North Carolina and features live entertainment.
Spokeswoman Debby Robinson says organizers have handed out 60,000 free tickets. She says veterans can still get tickets the day of the event.
Robinson says veteran service organizations will be there to provide assistance to veterans looking for help on a wide range of issues.
Millions of U.S. troops — including 216,000 from North Carolina —  served in the Vietnam War. More than 58,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in Vietnam, including 1,600 from North Carolina.
When they returned, soldiers were not honored like the troops in other wars.