ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA (WENY) -- About 2.7 million American service members served during the Vietnam War era. More than 58,000 of them didn't make it home alive; their names are inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, DC.

Each year since 1999, a ceremony is held in our nation's capital to honor those who lost their lives in the years since the Vietnam War, due to Agent Orange, PTSD, or other illness related to their service. On June 14, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) held its annual "In Memory" induction ceremony, reading the names of 774 Vietnam Veterans who survived Vietnam, but have passed away in the 50+ years since the war.

Among the names read aloud Saturday, was David M. Coats of North Cohocton, NY. Coats enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1969 at age 19 after receiving a draft notice when he was a high school senior in Wellsville, New York. Deployed to Vietnam in 1970, Coats' was attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade in country until 1971.

After the war, Coat's children say David was a devoted father and grandfather, and was well-known in the community for his kindness and sense of humor. They said he was the kind of man who would pull over to help a motorist in need on the side of the road, and was a dedicated family man, who doted on his grandchildren. While he didn't often speak of his time in the Vietnam War, his children say some of his habits could be attributed to his time in the service.

"He was always on the move, always doing something, a nervous energy, a lot of coffee, I guess you should call it anxiety, but it was probably from being in Vietnam," said his daughter Holli.

Coats' oldest son Justin, a U.S. Army veteran, learned of the VVMF's "In Memory" program while visiting The Wall That Heals, a traveling 3/4 size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial while it visited Penn Yan last August.

"We saw the little memorial plaque there of all the veterans who had passed from Agent Orange or whatever, then we did a little looking around and digging and that’s how she [Justin's girlfriend Sarah] came across it [the In Memory program], she told us about it to add his name to it, and so she did, and then the process began," he explained.

Justin and his girlfriend Sarah both work at the Bath VA Medical Center, and got the ball rolling with the required paperwork for Coats to be inducted into the program. It didn't take long for the family to learn David would be inducted during the 2025 ceremony.

Coats' wife Judith, three children, Holli, Justin, and Kris, along with family and close friends made the trip from Upstate New York to Washington, DC to be part of the VVMF's 2025 "In Memory" ceremony, held on Father's Day weekend. June 2025 also marks the tenth anniversary of Coat's passing from lung cancer, in 2015.

The Coats family joined about 2,000 other individuals in Alexandria, Virginia on Saturday, sharing in their grief while honoring their loved ones for the service in a war where the effects, both mental and physical, are still felt today by those who served and have died in the years since.

At the ceremony, there was music and prayer, and messages of support on behalf of the VVMF to the veterans for their service, and to the families who love them. It also served as an acknowledgment of their service and sacrifice during the war, along with their fallen brothers and sisters whose names are on the Vietnam wall.

"It was really a range of emotions. I guess for me one of the biggest [feelings] was pride. He deserves it; I guess I was happy to see something positive," said Holli.

"It’s hard to believe because you know go through it, you know like our whole generation you can’t believe how many daughters and sons of the father who passed went through the same thing we did. You get up there, and it was almost harder to listen to theirs being announced sometimes because you could hear them, the suffering, it was hard for them to get out," said Justin.

For veterans who were inducted and family could not attend the ceremony, their names were often read by a fellow service member, or volunteer with VVMF. In total, out of 774 veterans inducted this year, 65 were from New York State, and 30 from Pennsylvania. To date, 7,000 Vietnam veterans who have passed have been inducted into the In Memory program. 

To see the 2025 In Memory Honor Roll of this year's inductees, click here.

To learn more about the In Memory Program, click here. Applications for the 2026 ceremony can found here.