BELFAST – Many Americans are unaware that thousands of Canadians fought in the Vietnam War and that the names of more than a hundred are etched in the memorial wall.

At Saturday’s Memorial Celebration of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall replica, Canadian veteran Bill Baniff had the honor of placing a wreath at the base of the wall in memory of his fallen countrymen.

Clad in camouflage greens and wearing a beret affixed with the feather of a hawk, Baniff laid the wreath before the wall in solemn recognition of the 103 Canadians who died in Vietnam.

Baniff, who lives in Bucksport but retains his Canadian citizenship, said an estimated 12,000 Canadians served as U.S. soldiers in Vietnam and that more than 30,000 were in other branches of the U.S. armed forces during the years of the war.

Although 103 are known to have died in the war, Baniff said, it was difficult to get an exact tally of the number of Canadians killed in Vietnam because many were recorded as being from the city where they enlisted. Some volunteers simply joined up as Americans. “We really don’t know how many we lost,” he said.

Baniff said that as a son of a World War II veteran, he was reared in a time when many young men considered the thought of going off to war as their duty. “I sort of grew up with the expectation that I was supposed to go and do something,” he said. “It was duty, but I guess the ultimate line is that it was adventure.”

Before he could enlist, Baniff had to obtain an alien green card that would enable him to join the military. He noted with a laugh that he ended up paying $700 to obtain his green card.

“I had to pay to join the Army,” he chuckled. “When I entered, I entered as a Canadian.”

He rose to the rank of sergeant and served with the 25th Infantry Division and arrived in Vietnam a week after the Tet Offensive of 1968. He has been returning to Vietnam for years, and has made two trips this year, with another planned for fall.

“It’s been overwhelming,” he said of his meetings with his former enemies. “I feel entirely welcome there.”