Michigan Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kowall (R-White Lake) places a special pin commemorating service in the Vietnam War on the breast of Gary, a Vietnam veteran who was a combat engineer with the 1st Marine Division. The lapel pins (shown right) were authorized by Congress, established under the secretary of defense and launched in 2012. They commemorate the 50th anniversary of the start of America’s ground war in Vietnam, which commenced in 1965.