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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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 Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:01 pm Post subject: Editorial: Traveling "Wall" in Tallahassee |
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| Quote: | Vietnam memorial
We honor those who died, and we still ask 'Why?'
By Bill Berlow
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
What's been written about the Vietnam War - by journalists, soldiers, scholars and ex-policymakers - could fill a library. Maybe a few.
There never will be a complete account. Can't be. Among the 2.6 million Americans who served there in the military over nearly two decades, each has a story like no other. So do their families and friends.
More than 58,000 American stories ended prematurely there. Besides photos and scrapbooks, medals and memories, their loved ones are left with the perpetual wonder of what they might have become: The average age of those who died was 23.
The rest of us are left with questions about what, if anything, America learned.
Talahassee Democrat - cont'd |
I'd venture to guess that what I learned about America and its commitment to Vietnam might vary considerably from Mr. Berlow's.
Nevertheless, a thoughtful piece reflecting upon this weekend's display of the traveling "Wall" in Tallahasee.
| Quote: | SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
The Dignity Memorial replica wall is on display today through Sunday at Culley's MeadowWood Memorial Park, 700 Timberlane Road. Visitors can view the memorial 24 hours a day and can make rubbings of the names on the wall. Members of local Vietnam veterans organizations plan to be on site around the clock to offer assistance to visitors.
Today: 10 a.m. opening ceremony: Marine band, Junior ROTC units. Speakers include retired Brig. Gen. William Webb, U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, who's a Vietnam veteran, and Tallahassee Mayor John Marks. Candlelight ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Bagpipe band, vocalist Carol Oseroff and speaker Doug Dortch.
Saturday: 11 a.m. Purple Heart ceremony: Speaker is Lt. Gen. Lawrence Snowden.
Sunday: 4 p.m. closing ceremony. FSU marching band, vocalist Fred Lee and speaker Dale Doss, retired military captain and former prisoner of war. |
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LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
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| Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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This past Memorial Day this "Wall" was here in the Pacific Northwest. My wife and I visited it and it is a moving experience. The following is what I wrote describing our visit then:
| Quote: | Visiting Old Friends
Living on the West Coast I don't get the chance to visit old friends located in Washington D.C.. I doubt I will ever get that chance as I view D.C. as a nasty place anyways.
Fortunately for me I got the chance to see old friends I haven't seen in some 35 years now. Some had slipped from my memory but others are as clear as a bell to me.
I got that chance this Memorial Day Weekend and my wife, Anita, and I went to see them. We had a little trouble locating where they were and of course, finding them out of over 58,000 who were there, but found them none the less.
As I stood before them and looked at the rest of the over 58,000 being viewed and visited by many, in the cold and rain known to the Northwest, memories of our youth together came back to me and I envisioned them all smiling back at me still youthful as ever. It seemed only I had aged and gone gray.
I looked around me and saw several others who had aged visiting with their old friends, some with tears streaming down their cheeks. Some introduced grandchildren to their old friends and told stories of their youthful exploits and the last time they saw each other. Others just wept as they reached out to touch a special old friend.
I never thought I would have the chance to see my old friends again and also thought maybe a reunion with them might prove too emotional for me. But, I was wrong on both accounts. Through the generosity of Dignity Memorial Service and the hard work of a lot of people as well as sponsorship by KPAM 860 AM Talk Radio, a 3/4 replica of the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial Wall was brought to Portland, Oregon for Memorial Day Weekend for us all to visit and pay our respects to old friends we lost while serving in Viet Nam.
While I served in Viet Nam my unit, C Troop 7/17th Air Cavalry, lost 13 men. Two I remember distinctly, although I knew all 13 and at one time or another had spoken to them all. Sgt Scott Stanton and Sfc Robert Pilk were the old friends I sought out this evening.
Whether you ever served or not I encourage all to make the effort to at least once visit either the actual Viet Nam Veterans Memorial or one of the replicas traveling the country. The outcome of that conflict doesn't matter. What does matter is that 2.5 million Americans served there fighting for the principles of freedom for both Americans and the South Vietnamese. Over 58,000 paid the ultimate sacrifice, laying down their lives for friends and people they never knew. According to all versions of the Bible I have read, no man gives a greater gift than to lay down his life for friends or neighbors.
Be thankful America produces people such as these and visit them from time to time. They deserve our respect for their sacrifices.
Lew
PS: On a side note, after visiting with my old friends I had the pleasure of actually meeting Victoria Taft, a local Conservative Talk Radio personality on from 6PM to 9PM weeknights. She was broadcasting her show live from Lincoln Memorial Park where the Dignity Travelling Memorial Wall is set up this Memorial Day Weekend. She is a lovely lady with a love for America unmatched by many.
Visiting old friends was great, but making a new one is just as wonderful. |
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Clark County Conservative |
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mtboone
Founder
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 470
Location: Kansas City, MO.
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| Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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Lew, that was a well written piece about visiting old friends.
I remember being in DC the year after the Wall was built and it was Memorial Day. I went to see the Wall and the emotional out burst was so over whelming. At the time I could only remember one of the 5 men that died in my Swift Division and I felt so full of guilt. As I walked away after my visit, I started reading the letters from family and friends left at the Memorial and read about their pain and love for those that died. It was a real humbling expierence then and still is each time I see the Wall or the traveling Wall. I always make sure I have plenty of tissue.
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Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69 |
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