Re: Today is Nation Vietnam Veterans Day

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A huge Thank You to all the Viet Nam Veterans for your service. In Honor of

Mar 29, 2024, 11:19 AM

those who served who did NOT return, as well, I offer the text of one of the few times I had something published on our local paper here in Orangeburg, a heartfelt letter I penned after a visit to the "The Wall that Heals" when it came through Orangeburg many years ago. I have posted it before, but the message should never be forgotten.

"I went to see Your Wall today."

I went to see The Wall today. Actually, it is only a half sized replica of the real Wall, but there is nothing half sized about the power it emitted. For those who have not seen, I am talking about The Wall That Heals, the traveling Viet Nam War Memorial National Monument.

I did not know how (or if) I would be affected by my visit to the Wall, I only knew that I did not want to miss the opportunity to see it. When I arrived, there were only a few people around. In one area, there were a couple of older white men who could best be described as "biker" type individuals by appearance. The expressions of pain and loss on their faces looked completely out of place on such hardened men. But, they wore them unashamedly in this place. In another area, an older black man kneeled, searching for a specific name. I found out the name was of his brother-in-law.

The longer I stayed, the more the symbolism of the Wall became apparent. The names on the wall are not in alphabetical order. They are instead in what appears to be random order, based on the date they died. As random as being in the wrong place at the wrong time to live, but the right place and time to die. This war knew no racial boundaries. It didn't care if you were rich, poor, black, white, young, or old. All were affected. Some were affected by living it in Viet Nam. Others were affected by having the war brought into their living rooms on a nightly basis. Families were affected by those who did not come home alive, and by those who did as well. Others such as myself continue to be affected by the loss of so many of our finest young people 30 years after the fact.

The Wall rises up slowly out of the ground on one end, and then tails off slowly into the ground on the opposite end. I find this again symbolic of a War that had no real declared beginning, and no real final end, only a hollow declaration of "Peace With Honor." Viet Nam veterans received a lot of this same denial type of treatment prior to the creation of The Wall. It was kind of like "Yeah, we know you were over there, but we don't want to talk about this one because we didn't come out smelling like a rose."

I even remember a lot of criticism of the Monument prior to its opening. "Just names on a black wall? What kind of War Memorial is that?" Come see the Wall, either the replica as I did, or the actual Memorial in Washington. You won't have to ask that question again. Thank You to all the Veterans who survived Viet Nam, and to the ones who didn't, I went to see Your Wall today.

**********

When that letter first got posted in the newspaper, I received a phone call from the widow of one of the names on The Wall. She introduced herself, and thanked ME for just writing a letter. I almost could not speak, except to thank HER for taking the time to call me, and for thinking that what I had written was a somehow a worthy rememberance of her husband and all the others. I carry that phone call as one of my most cherished memories.

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the Spirits of at least some of the names on The Wall were there with it. I firmly believe that, I felt their presence. So did everyone else who was there at the time. One of the most humbling experiences of my life.

Many forget, or younger people never even were told, that there was a draft lottery in effect during the Viet Nam War. Being in college got me a student deferrment, but it was truly sobering to know that if I flunked out of Clemson, I could be on the fast track to Southeast Asia. I was also lucky in that I had a really high draft lottery number, something like 352.

Opposition to the War was very real. Antiwar demonstrations, sometimes violent, happened at many colleges across the country. But, even against that backdrop, most young men stepped forward when their name was called, instead of fleeing to Canada, or somehow buying their way out if their family was rich or politically "connnected". John Fogerty even sang about it in the song "Fortunate Son".

For me, and probably for most, who were raised by parents of "The Greatest Generation" that grew up and surived WWII, going to Viet Nam if my name was called would not have even been a decision I had to contemplate. I would have gone, and served, and hopefully, survived. But then, I would have returned home to a FAR different environment than those soldiers of WWII did. The shameful initial treatment of Viet Nam Veterans after their tours were up is something this country will never truly make up for. It is just a part of history, like all the other parts good and bad. And, one I pray we learn from, so that it is never repeated.

Today is Nation Vietnam Veterans Day

Thanks for your service!!!

This was news to me - I just thought it was Good Friday

Amen!

Re: Thanks for your service!!!