While the wind tried its best to blow out some flames Monday night, the 37th Candle Light Vigil at the Vietnamese Cultural Center seemed to offer plenty of warmth, and take the edge off the chilly wind as people remembered the over one million South Vietnamese and the 58,000 American soldiers who gave up their lives during the Vietnam War.

Cultural Center founder, Lee Ducly Bui spoke, lit incense and snapped a few shots of attendees to honor fallen soldiers, and surviving vets.

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Dennis Case of Redmond spoke. He said he chose to join the U.S. Coast Guard in 1969 rather than be drafted in Vietnam. He said he was here unofficially, that he did serve in the Coast Guard and Navy for 31 years in the Reserves, and two years ago began working with the VA serving veterans who suffer from the affects of Agent Orange. He helps facilitate claims.

"On a daily basis I am reading the letters from the widows, parents, brothers and sisters and children from those who served in Vietnam," Case said. "Those who did survive may have been taken sick very soon after their service because of their exposure to the Agent Orange chemicals.

"It was not necessarily a plan of the Veterans Administration to not honor their claims and give them some sort of medical benefit," he added. "It's just that the medical science didn't catch up with the budget. Consequently many, many claims were denied. There was not what was referred to as a service connection (...) Many of those claims are now being addressed. My office in Auburn has handled almost 20,000 of those claims (based on agent Orange).

"The war is still going on, not just in the hearts and minds of those who's served, but in the fact that they are facing these disabilities," he said. "On their benefit and behalf again I say I am very proud to share this day with you (...) I feel a kinship with you."