Congress Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, on Thursday released a new Thank-a-Vet Thursday (#TVT) video featuring Petty Officer 2nd Class William (Bill) Canfield, a U.S. Navy Veteran who served during the Vietnam War.

Canfield enlisted in the U.S. Navy on Sept. 9, 1961 at age 20 as an Aviation and Nuclear Weapons Storekeeper aboard the USS Princeton LHP5. He participated in the Chu-Lai invasion where his ship served as a launching pad for a Marine battalion and provided support for the ground combat elements to gain a foothold at the beginning of the invasion. For his service, Canfield was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Vietnam Service Medal. Canfield is a longtime resident of Ripon and the new commander for VFW post 6311 in Manteca. 

Shared on Denham’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages, this #TVT video is an excerpt from a longer interview for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project where Canfield talks about the start of the Chu-Lai invasion and the sight of the ships lined up off the coast of Vietnam.

Canfield’s story is shared as part of Denham’s #TVT social media initiative to thank veterans for their service. Denham invites and encourages social media users to post photos and videos using #TVT to recognize America’s military veterans. All #TVT videos can be found on Denham’s YouTube channel and official Facebook page.