Vietnam Wall Replica Dedication Ceremony

Vietnam War Memorial Replica

DEDICATION CEREMONY Veterans Memorial Park, 800 N Veterans Memorial Blvd.

Thursday, November 2, 2017 at 10 a.m.

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Vietnam Wall Memorial Dedication

Vietnam Wall Memorial Dedication

Stories from the Wall

Robert, Panel 06E, Line 88

The Vietnam Memorial Wall at night in Washington, D.C. (Photo by James Cooper)

Panel 34W, Line 081; Panel 9W, Line 104 Charles Woodall Jr. and Leslie Douglas Jr.

By Jerry L. Thompson, USMC, CPL Jerry Thompson, a Marine, was the first veteran to sponsor a panel . He did so in memory of PFC Robert Burciaga, who died saving his life. Jerry died June 23, 2016, and his friends sponsored the wall panel next to the one he sponsored for Robert. Here is Jerry’s story as he told it in January 2003.

Robert and I were on patrol, stopped for just a little while, and finishing a game of “Hearts” when Robert Burciaga gave his life for me.

He took all the force from the blast of a Viet Cong homemade mine. He was a Marine in the true sense of the word. I had not served with him for long. Just like the rest of us who were in Vietnam; there for a little while, and then gone. Some went home; others just gone.

Robert was a pleasure to be around and has been in my thoughts ever since.

To anyone who might have known Robert, relative or friend, I was the last Marine to see him alive.

Building the Tupelo Replica Wall

Misty Woodall Costner is the daughter of Charles Charles M. Woodall Jr. and Kim Sistrunk is the daughter of Leslie Douglas Jr. These two panels were sponsored by friends.

Misty’s father was killed in Vietnam before she was born.

Kim’s father was killed before she was a year old. Neither had the opportunity to know their fathers.

Misty has been to Vietnam to see where her father was killed.

She has spoken about him in various places. When the Traveling Wall, also known as the “Healing Wall,” visited Fulton nearly a decade ago, she was the keynote speaker for the event and moved the crowd to tears. Originally from Fulton, Misty lives in Virginia.

Kim Sistrunk is from Lee County. She says her mother’s life froze, as a 23-year-old single mother because she was unable to move past the moment she discovered her husband had been killed. Kim’s father was a helicopter pilot and was killed near the end of the war. The documentary “Shadow of the Blade” features Leslie Douglas Jr.

Ray and Shirley Strength in Veterans Memorial Park, Tupelo, Miss. (Courtesy Photo) Ray Strength’s story is as much a part of the Vietnam Memorial Wall Replica as those we remember on the panels.

He started the Vietnam Veterans of America chapter in Tupelo. When the work to have a replica wall began in Northeast Mississippi, Ray made and sold jewelry to raise money for the effort.

Ray lived and breathed Vietnam. He and his wife, Shirley, were in Fulton all day nearly every day the Traveling

Wall, or “Healing Wall” as it’s known now, was in Fulton nearly 15 years ago. You never saw one without the other.

You see the necklaces he made on some people - the red, yellow and green of the USA Vietnam War. You never saw Ray without his.

Sadly, Ray died in a drowning accident in 2013. His wife, Shirley, remains active with the VVA. A friend sponsored a panel on the replica wall in memory of Ray.

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Vietnam Wall Memorial Dedication

NE Mississippians on theWall This is a list of the Northeast Mississippians on the Vietnam Memorial Wall:

ABBEVILLE: SP4 Darrell James De Priest ABERDEEN: Pfc Clyde Garth Jr. 1LT George Emerson Jones

Sgt. Roger Thomas Guest PFC James Ammons Woodruff

AMORY: Sgt. David Hugh Harlow

SP4 Carlos Leroy Tartt

ASHLAND: PFC Lynn Bailey Coleman

SP4 William Thomas Gresham Jr

BALDWYN: SP4 Phillip Allen Duncan SP4 Edward Polk McCarthy III

Sgt. Gerald Clinton Mauney LCPL John Curtis Young

BATESVILLE: SP5 Jimmie David Hinton PFC Willie Clyde Kuykendall SP4 Hayzell Calvin Turner

SP4 Clarence Jones CPL Johnny Lee Robinso SP4 Charles Watson Willingham

BLUE SPRINGS: SP4 James David McWhorter

SGT George Washington Moore PFC Larry Huston Walden CPL James Earl Williams SP4 Weyman Terry Cook PFC Prince Arthur Johnson Jr PFC Hershel Eugene Morrow SSG Clyde Raymond Phillips SP4 Gerhard W C Vanderford

DENMARK: LCPL Willie Morris Jones DUMAS: SP4 David Thomas Chapman EGYPT: LCPLLucion Gillispie Jr CPL Melford Wayne West

GATTMAN: SP4 Thomas Franklin Irvin

BOONEVILLE: SGT Kenneth Braxton Carpenter P4 Larry Floyd Dodds

BURNSVILLE: SGT Donnie Joe Marlar

HOLLY SPRINGS: PFC M L Curry SGT Mack Simpson Jeffries

SSG Robert Samuel Clark Jr SP4 Jerry Reed Davis PFC Rockford Grey Everett CPL Roy Lee Henley PFC Benjamin Franklin Liddell III

PFC Frank Edward Davis PFC Benny Leon Smith

HOULKA: PFC Fred Lee Hampton HOUSTON: PFC Leon Vincent Fox SP4 Allen Avery Griffin

CALHOUN CITY: SP4 Charles Ray Jones COLUMBUS: SP4 Freeman Bolen SGT Kenneth Ray Clopton CPL Sylvester Ellis SGT Truman James W Gilbert PFC Jerry Dale Humphrey

CORINTH: SP4 Douglas Everett Byrd SP4 Bobby Hudson PFC Gary Kenneth Lannom SP4 Larry Franklin Newcomb PFC Jerry Wayne Talley PFC Troy Lee Walker

FULTON: CPT Phillips H Izard Jr Sgt. Larry Thomas Yeilding

BLUE MOUNTAIN: SGT Richard Allen Menees

BRUCE: LCPL John Wayne Brown PFC William Franklin Stringer

COLUMBUS: (Continued) WO Ronald Smith McCrary LCPL Dennis Gerald Smith PFC Willie Whitfield Jr

CPL Harold Douglas Gore 1LT George Michael Wall

IUKA: LCPL Arthur William Dilworth NETTLETON: PFC Owen Wayne Worthey Continued on Page 6

Vietnam Wall Memorial Dedication

Invocation: LTC Tim Williams US Air Force Ret. Raising of the Flags: Pledge of Allegiance: Councilman Buddy Palmer Star Spangled Banner: Tupelo High School Choir Special Thanks: Don Lewis, City of Tupelo Welcome: Mayor Jason Shelton Remarks: Lt. Governor Tate Reeves Speaker: John Rowan President Vietnam Veterans of America Special Music: Tupelo High School Choir Taps: MGySgt Bob Verell US Marine Corps Ret. Dismissal

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Vietnam Wall Memorial Dedication

Continued list of the Northeast Mississippians on the Vietnam Memorial Wall:

HOUSTON: PFC Leon Vincent Fox

1LT George Michael Wall

RIENZI: LCPL Hensley McFadden Dilworth

IUKA: LCPL Arthur William Dilworth

RIPLEY: SP4 Raymond Albert Bizzell

MARIETTA: SP4 Jimmie Ray Isbell

TIPLERSVILLE: Sgt. Louis Clark Hines

NEW ALBANY: LCPL Larry Earl Adams PFC Roland Hayes Howell PFC Larry Lee Page SGT Joe Raymond Roberts Jr. SGT Charles McClame Shumpert

TREMONT: CPL Jimmy Darrel Humphres

OKOLONA: PFC James Edward Hill CPL Eugene Hunt

CPL Johnny Ray Holloway

OXFORD: SMSGT James Ellis Williams PONTOTOC: CPL Ronald Lee Sandlin PLANTERSVILLE: Sgt. Don Allen Boozer

TUPELO: CPL Bobby Joe Ard LCPL Dennis Eugene Clark PFC James Ralph Stevenson SP5 Jimmie Carl Wallace SALTILLO: MAJ Charles Elbert Finney

CPL Danny Keith Witt

PFC Thomas Richard Stutts

SP4 Terry Lee Blythe

SP4 Clarence Blanks SP4 Paul William Robinson SFC James Taylor Tucker

SSGT Larry Edward Hand

SHERMAN: PFC Terry Lee Armstrong VERONA: 1LT Leslie Forrest Douglas

WOMEN OF THE WALL 1LT Sharon Ann Lane - 23W 112 Lt. Lane died from shrapnel wounds when the 312th Evac. at Chu Lai was hit by rockets on June 8, 1969. From Canton, Ohio, she was a month short of her 26th birthday 2LT Pamela Dorothy Donovan - 53W 043 Lt. Donovan, from Allston, Mass., became seriously ill and died on July 8, 1968. She was assigned to the 85th Evac. in Qui Nhon. She was 26 years old.

LTCOL Annie Ruth Graham - 48W 012 Chief nurse at 91st Evac. Hospital, Tay How and from Efland, NC, she suffered a stroke on August 14, 1968 and was evacuated to Japan, where she died four days later. A veteran of both WWII and Korea, she was 52.

CAPT Mary Therese Klinker - 01W 122 Capt. Klinker, a flight nurse assigned to Clark Air Base in the Phillippines, was on the C-5A Galaxy that crashed on April 4 outside Saigon while evacuating Vietnamese orphans. This is known as the Operation Babylift crash. From s) res ng Library Co (Courtesy Photo from Lafayette, Ind., she was 27 years old.

2LT Carol Ann Elizabeth Drazba - 05E 046 2LT Elizabeth Ann Jones - 05E 047 Lt. Drazba and Lt. Jones were assigned to the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon. They died in a helicopter crash near Saigon, February 18, 1966. Drazba was from Dunmore, PA, and Jones was from Allendale, SC. Both women were 22 years old.

CAPT Eleanor Grace Alexander - 31E 008 1LT Hedwig Diane Orlowski - 31E 015 Capt. Alexander of Westwood, NJ, and Lt. Orlowski of Detroit, Mich., died November 30, 1967. Alexander, stationed at the 85th Evac., and Orlowski, stationed at the 67th Evac., in Qui Nhon, had been sent to a hospital in Pleiku to help out during a push. With them when their plane crashed on the return trip to Qui Nhon were two other nurses: Jerome E. Olmstead of Clintonville, Wisc., and Kenneth R. Shoemaker Jr. of Owensboro, KY. Alexander was 27. Orlowski was 23 years old.

Vietnam Wall Memorial Dedication

Adams, John and Darla; Albritton, John; Alexander, Janie; Alexander, Morris and Alice; Allen, Charles; Allen, William; Allen, David and Wanda; Allen, Gary and Vickie; American Legion Riders Corinth Post # 6; American Legion Post #24; American Legion T. S. Patterson Post #69 - Columbus; American Legion Post #74 - Braxton, MS; American Legion Potter-Henry-Lowry- New Albany; American Postal Workers Union; Anderson, James; Anderson, Terry and Debra; Andrew F. Lawhon Marine Corps League; Angle,Roger and Kellie; Arbogast, Richard; Aspinall, Kenneth; Aubuchon, William and Belinda; Aycock, Randy and Sharion; Aycock, Joyce; Baker, Ben; Ballard, Elizabeth; Ballard, Betsy; Banko, Stephen and Shirley; Barber, Joe; Barlow, Michelle; Barnes & Nobel Booksellers; Barnes,Brian; Barnes Crossing Hyundai Mazda; Barton, Joseph; Barton, Gene; Baughn, M/M Talmadge; Baughn, Darrell and Jennifer; Beane, Tom and Tami; Bedford, Buddy; Bennett, Trent and Renae; Bennett, Mike; Bibbee, Shannon; Bishop, Kenneth; Blissard, Terri; BNI United Professionals; Boatner, Charles and Vivian, Bogardus, George and Lucille; Boggs, Gwen; Booker, Joyce; Booth, Pam; Boozer, Larry and Carolyn; Boozer, Jimmy; Boozer, Randy; Botts, Jan; Bounds, Michael; Braden, Frederick William “Bill”; Bramble, Jon and Wendi; Bramlett, William; Bramlette, Wayne; Brett, William; Brewer, Morgan; Bristow, Monica “Moe”; Brooks, Travis; Broome, Austin; Bryant, Brandy; Buchanan, William; Burke, Mike; Burleson, Mark; Burress, Nicole; Byrne, Brenda; BancorpSouth, Inc.; Calhoun City Middle School; Cardsville Baptist Church; Carnathan, Gary; Carnathan, Eddie; Carney, Larry; Carroll, LaTasha; Carter, Phillip; Carter, Sherry; Chandler, Sophia; Chaney, Jonathan and Lindsey; Chapman, Andy and Christy; Charves, Michael; Chesnut, Robert; Chisholm, Charles; Christian, Billy and Linda; Clark, Nancy; Clark, Rand L.; Clayton, Thomas; Clemons, Kenneth and Judy; Clemons, Casey and Annette; Clift, Jesse; Colavolpe, Arthur; Collections at WalMart on North Gloster; Comiskey-Wheat Detachment

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DONORS

Marine Corps League - Hattiesburg, MS; Cooley, Kathryn; Coon, Steven and Dawn; Cooper, Chip; Corley, William and Jeanne; Craig, Bobby; Crane, Peggy; Critz, Dr. Ann Davidson; Crockett, Davy; Cullin, Christopher; Dale, Robert and Martha; Davis, Beulah; Day, Hugh; Dennis, Larry; Disabled American Veterans - Columbus; Disabled American Veterans Chapter #43 - Tupelo, Mississippi; Dollar, Ralph; Dorsey Lions Club; Dossett, M/M R. B. “Rudy”; Douglas, Nelson and MaryJane; Dowdy, Lynn; Downs, Amanda; Durfield, Mark; Easterling, Sarah; Edwards, Kim; Ellis, Kinney and Betty; Ellis, Judy; Emmanuel Baptist Church; Evans, Bernard; Farris, Courtney; First American National Bank; Fitzgibbon, Shirley; Foote, Alma; Foster, Gordon; Foster, Tavetia; Franks, Bobby; Friday, W.L.; Fugitt, Ed; Gaither, Danny and Vicky; Gansky, Paul; Garner, Robert Dale and Linda; Garrison, Betty; Geeslin, Ronnie and Rita; Gibson, Jerry; Gillentine, Tabitha; Gillespie, Joe; Gilley, Charles; Glasscock, Edward and Dorothy; Goddard, Beverly A.; Gosa, Mary Jo; Goosman, John; Graham, Johnny and Janet; Grainger Foundation; Green, Rodney and Helen; Green, Kathy; Green, Carolyn; Greenwood Baptist Church - Dorsey, Greer, Charlie; Gregory, Bert and Angela; Guffey, Cliff; Guild, David; Guyton, Charles; Hall, J.C. and Mary; Hall, Robert and Janet; Hall, Ed; Hankins, Andrea; Harden, Rubye Del; Hardin, J.M. and W. L.; Harrelson, Ken; Harris, Michelle; Harris, Geri; Harris, Marvin and Melissa; Harris, Carlyle and Louise; Harris, James; Henry, Bill and Maureen; Herring, Jason and Angelia; Hightower, Dwayne; Hill, Nancy; Hill, John and Sandra; Hill, William; Hill, Charline; Hill, Ricki; Hillhouse, Gayle; Hodges, David; Hodges, Mable; Holley, Joel and Mayola; Home Depot; Hussey, Jimmy and Kathleen; Hussey, Stan and Peggy; Hutcheson, Richard and Rita; Hutchinson, Peggy; Itawamba Community College; Itawamba County Retired Teachers Association; Jacobs, J.W. and Brenda; Jaeger, Roy; Jernigan, Jerry; Jeter, Christi; Johnson, Vincent and Kimberly; Johnson, Tosha; Jones, Shirley; Jones, Carolyn;

Jones, W. A. (Sonny); Karoly, Ann; Kaufer, Anton and Betsy; Kelly, Richard; Kesterson, Diane; Killett, Margaret; Kirk, M/M Bruce; Koon, Mary Gibbs; Kramer, Shawnda; Kyle, Sylvia; Lambert, Edith; Lambert, Rebecca; Lancaster, John and Kaye; Leonard, Al; Lindsey, Michael and Micki; Lingelbach, Johnnie; Lochridge, Raymond and Linda; Loden, Robert; Loden, James “Rusty” and Ann; Lowndes County VFW Post #4272; Lowery, Charles; Lunde, Bob; Maharrey, Billy and Ethel; Main Attraction Emporium and Coffee Bar; Maples, Randy and Pat; Marine Corps League - Tupelo, Mississippi; Markham, James “J.B.”; Marshall, Austin; Mask, H. Delane; Mason, Kenneth; Mauldin, Heidi; Mayo; Meredith; McCall, Linda; McCully, Sue; McElreath, David and Myrtis; McGregor & Sons Trucking, Inc; McKee, Kathryn; McKell, Stewart; McMillin, Brian and Karen; McNeece, Jeff and Teresa; McVay, Ken and Octavis; Miles, William and Barbara; Miller, Betty; Mills, William and Kathy; Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter #801 and Unit; Milner, Linda; Mitchell, James and Donna; Moody, Rex; Morgan, Jerry and Susie; Morrow, Wallace and Judy; Mothershed, Dr. Fred and Dr. Belinda; Mullins, Randal and Ann; Murry, Thomas and Byrle “Tootie”; Nanney, Michael and Christi; Nesbit, David; Nored, Steve and Amy; North Mississippi Aviation Expo; Norvel, Paul; Nowicki, Melinda; NRO Charitable Giving; Nunnelee for Congress; O’Neal, Patrick and Narda; Orr, Ben and Jo; Palmer, Keith; Pannell, Brandon and Jeanna; Parker, C.M.; Parmenter, Lester; Pate, Donald and Jeanne; Pate, Paul; Patrick, Howard; Patterson, Lauren; Patton, Ron; Payne, Frankie and Misti; Peeples, Carl and Ann; Perry, Herman and Dorthy; Perry, Johns Sons of the American Legion SQD#6; Philips Lighting; Phillips, Kathleen; Phillips, S. Wade and Kelly; Pilot Club of Houston; Ponder, Joseph; Pontotoc Woman’s Club; Porche, Donna; Preston, Robert; Pumphrey, Matthew; Purple Heart Auxiliary; Raper, Amos and Rosalyn; Reed, Sammy and Marilyn; Reeves, Sims and Betty; Remmers, Lou and Linda; Remmers, Tim; Richey, Hilton;

Rieves, M/M B. L.; Riley, John; Ritchey, Pam; Robinson, Tom; Robinson, Betty Jean; Rodriguez, Araceli; Rogers, Lynn; Roye, Gideon; Rushing, Willie and Barbara; Russell, Thomas; Russell, Myles; Russell, Steven and Anita; Rutledge, Johnny and Margarette; S & W Pharmacy - Fulton; Sams, L.F. and Mary Helen; Scott, Thomas and Pamela; Scott, John and Kathie; Settles, Danny and Sissy; Sewell, M/M Lee; Sheffield, Katie; Shirley Family Trust; Simmons, Bobby and Teresa; Sisson, Sherrie; Skelton, Marilyn; Smith, Dr. Jean; Smith, Clayton; Smith, Gary and Debbi; Snowden, Jesse; Snowden, Mike; Sparks, Jima; Sprint Print; Staggs, James; Standerford, Amanda; Stark, Anna; Starks, Leona; Starks, Chester; Staub, Norma Jo; Steele, Dewey; Stepp, Gene and Mary; Stevens, Debbie; Stowell, Lacey; Strength, Ray and Shirley; Stroud, Willis and Cherry; Stroud, Ramon; Stubblefield, Jerry and Sherry,Summerford, Myra; Swain, Malinda; Swinney, Sammie; Swords, Phil and Deborah; Tadlock, Sam; Taylor, Rosie; Thomas, Alfred; Thomason, David and Patsy; Thompson, Jerry and Sarah; Thompson, Jimmy and Judy; Thorn, Hollis Wayne and Leatrice; Toft, Barbara; Toomer, Bernard; Tudor, Richard and Mary; Tupelo Coca-Cola Bottling; Turner, Rebecca; Underhill, Charles; Veterans of Foreign Wars - Corinth; Veterans of Foreign Wars - Pontotoc; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #9122; Vietnam Veterans of America Chap # 842; Vavrunek, Dennis; Wade, Joe; Waldrop, Lake and Mary; Walker, Rebecca Ellen “Becky”; Wallace, Selvyn; Walthers, James and Joyce; Warren, Buddy and Nella; Warren, Susie; Washburn, Heywood and Sue; Weathersby, Robert; White, Thomas; Whitfield, H. Lewis; Whitfield, Charles; Wicker, M/M Fred; Willcutt, Mark and Nancy; Williams, Ida Helen; Williams, Jan; Williams, David; Williams, Brandi; Wilson, Byron and Dorothy; Wilson, Dick; Windham, Leo; Wiygul, Rhonda; Wood, Robert and Heather; Woods, Dr. Judy; Worrell, Randall; Wray, Pat; Wright, Tommy and Mary Ruth; Wright, Dennis and Sandra; Wright, Jay and Mandy; Young, Michelle; Zaremba, Kenneth

Thank You

To All The Men & Women of Northeast Mississippi For Your Service To Our Country!

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