"A Legacy of Service"

A LE GA C Y OF S ERVIC E

COMPILED BY

J A N C . S C RU G G S

A LEGACY OF SERVICE __________________

A collection of original essays, personal stories, and hopes for our country.

Published by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. Jan C. Scruggs, Esq., President Š 2014 All rights reserved.

CONTENTS F o re w o rd

A Place Worthy of Them

By Jan Scruggs................................................ 11 I ntr o d u cti o n

Why We Need the Education Center at The Wall

By Ralph Appelbaum......................................16 Essays on Service Something in Return

By John C. Dibble............................................21 Special appreciation to VVMF staff members Adam Arbogast, Lee Allen, and Allyson Shaw.

Board Members John Dibble, Harry G. Robinson III, Major General Michael Nardotti, and Ambassador Robert M. Kimmitt all gave of their time to complete this book expeditiously.

This book is dedicated to America’s fallen, whose photographs and legacy will one day inspire the fellow citizens for whom they laid down their lives in our nation’s wars. www.vvmf.org Edited by Carla Kalogeridis © 2014 All rights reserved.

America’s New Greatest Generation

By General David Petraeus........................... 24 One Family’s Journey

By Harry G. Robinson III.............................. 26 A Donut Dolly

By J. Holley Watts.......................................... 29 Women in Wartime: A Nurse Remembers

By Diane Carlson Evans................................ 33

Essays on Loyalty Our Mission Now: Keep the Memories Alive

By Major General Michael J. Nardotti, Jr., USA (Ret.)........................................................ 39

Journey Will Take the Rest of My Life

By Richard Lieb.............................................. 65 Our First Duty

By Major General James Marks................... 68

Always Valued, Never Forgotten.

By General George William Casey, Jr......... 44

I Did My Part

By John Weber................................................. 71

All About Time

Why We Continue to Search for Missing Soldiers

By Sergeant Major Danang McKay..............73

By Alivia Tagliaferri...................................... 47

Before Vietnam

By David Lucier.............................................. 52

I am an American

By C.J. Cole.......................................................55 Essays on Duty The Responsibility We Share

By Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch.............. 60 Honor the Obligation

By Bob McWethy............................................ 63

Essays on Respect DEFENDING AMERICA

By General Barry R. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.).........................................................77

A Simple Request

By Dr. Michael McClung.................................81

Now I Let the Tears Fall Freely

By Justin Constantine.................................... 85 The Weight

By Charlie Vallance........................................ 88

Lessons from Maui

By Janna Livesay Hoehn............................... 92

Youth and the Lessons of Vietnam By the students of Lindy Poling...................124

A Sacred Place to Remember

By Congressman Brett Guthrie.................... 95 Essays on Honor Return with Honor

By Captain Theodore W. Triebel.................. 99

From Soldier to Scholar

By Ron Milam, Ph.D................................. 102

My War Story

By General James Jones.............................. 106

Keeping the MIA Issue Alive

By Pam Cain.................................................. 109 Essays on Integrity HIGH DRAMA IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Never Leave a Veteran Behind

By Terry Araman..........................................129

Every Veteran has a Story to Tell

By Colonel David Napoliello........................133

The Legacy of Agent Orange

By Paul Cox....................................................135 Essays on Courage Full Moon, Full Circle

By Allan Hoe..................................................142

For Some, the War Goes On

By Craig Johnson..........................................146 A Father Lost

By Jan Scruggs.............................................. 113

By Crystal Lawrence Hood and Deborah Lawrence................................ 151

A Vow to Our Veterans

By John V. Cogbill, III...................................120

Remembering the Grunt Padre

By VVMF Staff................................................ 157

F O R E WO R D

A PLACE WORTHY OF THEM

by Jan Scruggs

There was a three-year struggle to get legislation passed allowing the Education Center to be built on the Mall. The work began in 2000.

Senator Chuck Hagel worked with vigor. There were many delays, requiring the legislation to be re-introduced three times. Now Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel finally prevailed by wearing down the opponents. The U.S. Senate and House passed the legislation unanimously in 2003.

In 2004 we finally got to work. An Educational Advisory Committee was formed. We envisioned an Education Center that would not only recognize Vietnam service, but also remember others by showing images from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan of soldiers who have risked their lives for the nation.

While the focus of the exhibits will be items left at The Wall and the values of the Americans 11

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who served in Vietnam, the overall theme will show Vietnam service as part of a larger legacy of service to America. Values like Loyalty, Duty, Honor, Courage, and Integrity will be elevated and celebrated.

We really want to be under construction by November 2015, but 2016 is more likely. Construction prices continue to rise, as we go after gifts large and small. It is hard work raising money, but what else is new?

A profound part of the Education Center will honor the veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan by showing the photos of the fallen on an hourly basis. This will be a sacred place to these veterans who have served since 9/11. One day, these patriots will have their own memorial.

Until then, this will give them some recognition. I hope you will read the words of General Petraeus and Justin Constantine in this book to better understand how important this element will be.

On November 28, 2012, we conducted a groundbreaking for the Education Center.

Speakers included the Secretaries of Defense and Interior, Senator Jack Reed, Congressman Brett Guthrie, and Jill Biden. The entire leadership of the U.S. Congress gave support. We had hoped to complete the fundraising in time for

a 2014 dedication. The veterans of Afghanistan would be welcomed home with a parade to the Education Center, led by the Vietnam Veterans who had fought the good fight for them.

Jimmy Buffet and I discussed a great idea.

Since we were ending a war in Afghanistan that was costing a billion a week anyway, why not end it a few hours early? Use this money to build the Education Center. These are the kind of great ideas one has when drinking beer.

There will be no parade welcoming home our solders from Iraq and Afghanistan in 2014 celebrating America’s Legacy of Service at the Education Center at The Wall. Unfortunately, this will take more time.

Why are we fighting so hard to build this facility? What will this building near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is actually on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial, actually accomplish? The authors in this book tell you.

Scholar Ron Milam and Washington lawyer John Weber explain why so many Americans have been willing to serve. And 94-year-old Bob McWethy will tell you about his experiences at Pearl Harbor.

The Education Center will have state-ofthe-art exhibits that will touch the heart in order to teach the mind. This will not just be

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another place to see in America’s capitol. Indeed the outcome of the Education Center will be worthy of the citizens whose photographs we show.

Our goal is to have one-million volunteers every year inspired enough by the Education Center to return home and do important volunteer work for their local communities. Some will help at animal shelters or at a church or hospital. Others will help at a soup kitchen or gathering donations. In the essay by John Dibble, you will better understand how the Education Center will serve as a bridge to helping others.

An army of volunteers going forth to their local communities inspired by America’s fallen is an integral goal of the entire Education Center project.

Some fine men and women in places like Khe Sahn, Con Thien, Fallujah, and Kabul put their lives at risk when the nation’s leaders made the decisions to begin military efforts.

Those who did not return will have a poignant legacy. Four hours of volunteer work will get you a dog tag of one of them.

Washington, D.C. is a dynamic city and a place that draws tourists from across the land.

From Alaska to Florida, groups of Americans arrive daily. Some come to meet with their rep-

resentatives in Congress. Some come to enjoy the city loved for its history, memorials, and fine museums that provide glimpses of history and art.

The Education Center at The Wall will be one place they will never forget. Help us get the job done.

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Jan Scruggs is the founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

Scruggs served as a corporal in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and upon completion of his service, attended American University in Washington, D.C. While doing his graduate studies, Scruggs began to raise funds for a memorial to honor the American veterans of the Vietnam War, beginning with $2,800 of his own money.

Eventually, he raised more than $8 million. The Wall was dedicated in November 1982 and is today a world-renowned icon of sacrifice and patriotism.

VVMF’s current mission is the Education Center at The Wall. Working in synergy with The Wall, this facility will tell the individual and collective stories of America’s legacy of service. In addition, the Education Center will help welcome home veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, while teaching visitors about the Vietnam War and the extraordinary values of the U.S. Armed Forces.

A LEGACY OF SERVICE

INTRODUCTION

The story of the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is well-documented and wellknown — the struggle to make it happen, the decision to hold a design competition, and the selection from more than 1,300 entries of a design by a young graduate student at Yale. But there is another story about the Memorial that revealed itself more slowly and perhaps even more unexpectedly. This one is about how people spontaneously started to interact with The Wall soon after its dedication, leaving messages and objects in a gesture of acknowledgement and grief that would eventually change the very way we, as a nation, mourn. This interaction between a granite wall, a list of names, and the public came to influence the nature of memorials and responses to loss all over the world.

At first, what was left was typically very personal, something never intended to be saved or collected, often a few words spontaneously jotted down on a piece of paper or a dollar bill. Gradually, people started to carefully craft letters or choose objects to leave — a yearbook, a baseball and glove, a poem, a graffiti-marked helmet. With time, the objects began marking the passage of generations. Graduation tassels appeared with regular frequency, then objects related to weddings and the birth of children.

Veterans of more recent wars began to leave offerings that resonated with their own experiences. Now grandchildren of those who died are being brought to the Memorial.

The Education Center is the natural next step in the evolution of this important site of national memory. It will put a face to every one of the names on the Memorial, present the history of the war through iconic images and news footage, and provide a venue for veterans to recount their own experiences. By displaying many of the more than 400,000 objects that have been left at The Wall, the Center will also chronicle how one of the most extraordinary collections of historical objects in the nation came to be.

Among the many collections preserved

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WHY WE NEED THE EDUCATION CENTER AT THE WALL

By Ralph Appelbaum

A LEGACY OF SERVICE

intr o d u cti o n

in American museums and archives, there is nothing like this one. As Duery Felton, curator of the collection and a Vietnam veteran himself, has said, “[It] is uncensored and unedited. It is vibrant and alive and always changing. It is history written by the everyday person.” To create a permanent location for display of these moving letters and objects is a fitting recognition of the important social history they represent.

In recent years, more and more often it is organized school and tour groups who come to the Memorial, frequently without any special expectations, to find themselves overwhelmed by its power. One high-school student put it this way: “I got a deeper understanding of the reality. You can hear ‘58,000 people died’ all day long, but it really makes an impact when you see it. It hits hard.” Another said, “I cannot even explain what this trip meant to me. I will remember it above anything I did in all four years of high school . . . including spring break and parties. It has taught me the true lessons of life, good and bad . . . It taught me the value of life.”

Americans travel long distances to visit the National Mall. They come with a desire to make contact with their heritage in the form of space capsules, First Ladies’ dresses, and ruby slip-

pers. But they also want to visit the places that encourage reflection about what citizenship and service really mean. We know the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is already one of those special places. It is our hope that the Education Center will help ensure the Memorial will continue to speak as strongly to future generations as it does today of the importance of remembering those who died for their country, honoring all our veterans, and being inspired by their service to give more of ourselves.

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Ralph Appelbaum is the founder of Ralph Appelbaum Associates, creators of award-winning museum exhibitions, visitor centers, and educational environments. In addition to the Education Center at The Wall, current projects include the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Past projects include the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, the National Constitution Center, the United States Capitol Visitor Center, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

A LEGACY OF SERVICE

Essays on SERVICE __________________

As Americans, we sometimes place the welfare of the nation or our community before our own.

In serving our country, we are doing our duty loyally, without thought of recognition or gain.

These essays reveal courageous people who were not afraid to endure hardships to serve our nation.

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SOMETHING IN RETURN

By John C. Dibble

It has been said that we live in age of information overload, and there’s a lot of truth in that.

Consider the background noise of our daily existence: 24/7 news, social networking, wireless communication — just to mention a few.

In some ways, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is its own form of information overload.

The more than 58,000 names engraved on its face are almost too much to comprehend. Of course, that is also what makes The Wall such a powerful place to visit.

But for current generations, the message of The Wall and the meaning of military service and sacrifice may be lost in the background noise of daily existence. Citizens with no connection to the military may not recognize that those names belong to actual people who gave their lives in service to their country. Each name represents a loved one, a friend, or a comrade in arms.

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ESSAYS ON SERVICE

The real question is: How do we break through the daily onslaught of information to tell the stories, not just of the names on The Wall, but of all those who have served their country? How do we convey the true meaning of military service to generations who, with each passing day, become more removed from its values, traditions, and importance to our country?

The answer may lie in the Education Center at The Wall, a truly unique addition to the National Mall. Here, visitors will find stories told of those who served — not just in Vietnam, but in all of America’s conflicts, including our most recent ones. Stories told through pictures, interactive exhibits, remembrances, and items left at the Wall. The Education Center will also make use of the hand-held devices carried by virtually every young visitor, allowing them to download pictures, histories, news reports, and even music from critical periods in our nation’s history.

Central to the experience of visitors will be the Wall of Faces, a two-story projected display of photographs of those whose names appear on The Wall, as well as daily displays of photographs of those who have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

This experience will not be free. Upon entering, each visitor to the Education Center will be given a dog tag bearing one of the names on The Wall. In exchange, they will be asked to perform community service in their hometown in memory of the person on the dog tag. This is where the Education Center will differ from most other information sources in our modern world: It will ask for something in return.

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John C. Dibble is an attorney in Washington, D.C. and has served as chairman of the VVMF board of directors since 2010. In 2013, Dibble authored a novel, “Difficult Run.”

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AMERICA’S NEW GREATEST GENERATION

By General David Petraeus

The young Americans who have come of age after 9/11 and have worn the uniform of our country in combat have truly earned recognition as America’s new Greatest Generation.

They have all been volunteers, raising their right hands and reciting the oath of enlistment, knowing that they would be asked to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan or some other location to perform missions of consequence assigned to them by our nation’s leaders. Throughout their deployments, they have invariably displayed extraordinary initiative, courage, innovativeness, and determination. They have confronted tough enemies, extreme weather, and fought in deserts, cities, and mountains, performing complex tasks that often required understanding the human terrain as well as they understood the physical terrain. Each day they go on patrol, they must be prepared for a handshake 24

or a hand grenade – and be ready to respond correctly in either case.

Despite the separation from loved ones, tough casualties, and other hardships of combat, they have re-enlisted in unprecedented numbers. They have done so for the same reasons that they fought with such tenacity in combat – because of their fierce determination not to let down their buddies on their left and right and because of the sense of privilege to be performing missions larger than self.

In turn, it was a privilege for me to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan with many of these amazing young Americans, members of what rightly should be honored as America’s new Greatest Generation.

David Petraeus is a highly decorated, four-star general (retired) with more than 37 years in the United States Army. Petraeus held five general-officer combat commands, including command of the coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. An additional four-star assignment included serving as the 10th commander of the U.S. Central Command.

Petraeus was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2011-2012. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1974.

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11h00, 4 July, 1967 saw the end of my Vietnam tour of duty on a dirt road between Quan Loi and An Loc – three months, 22 days, eight hours.

What terminated on that road actually began at the turn of the century in Washington, D.C.

My father and his seven siblings were raised in Washington, D.C. My grandfather, Harry G., Sr., an orphan with limited education, raised eight children and put them all through college during the Depression with his moving company — a feat for any American, but notably so for a black man at that time. Among those children was my uncle, James Henry Hill.

Uncle Jim and my father, Harry, Jr., attended JROTC in high school. At that time, all male students in the District of Columbia were required to take JROTC. My father and Uncle Jim excelled as cadets.

When World War II broke out, Dad worked for the government and had two children. By this

time, Uncle Jim was a captain and had earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois. My father worked the home front; Uncle Jim went to war.

Uncle Jim was my earliest military role model. I remember the end of World War II and the celebrations upon his return from Italy. After the war, Uncle Jim was professor of military science at South Carolina State and assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Then came the Korean War, and Uncle Jim was off for the duration. During his service in that war, he worked with Omar Bradley, the respected Army General who was the last of only nine people to hold five-star rank in the United States Armed Forces.

Colonel James H. Robinson retired as the highest-ranking Negro officer in the Army after an assignment as commander of Fort Hamilton, New York. Resistance from some in the United States Congress had denied him General Officer status.

Omar Bradley told him, “Jim, if you were white, you would be a General.”

A product of the Robinson family history, I made my way toward Vietnam. Growth came in JROTC in Roosevelt High School and ROTC at Howard University. Three cousins were West Pointers, and one served as a Presidential Aide and retired as a Major General.

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ONE FAMILY’S JOURNEY

By Harry G. Robinson III

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ESSAYS ON SERVICE

During Engineer Officer Basic Course, I volunteered for Ranger and Airborne Schools, Special Forces, and Vietnam. Two out of four wasn’t bad – Ranger School and Vietnam. Everything I needed to know in life, I learned in Ranger School. Nine weeks later, I was wearing the Ranger tab with four days to get home and depart for Vietnam.

After an assignment as a platoon leader in D Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, I was assigned to Task Force Dixie, HQ, HQ Co, 1st Infantry Division, stationed at Quan Loi above An Loc. The presence of war was everywhere around An Loc. Enemy movement was constant. Contact was sporadic.

The men in Vietnam were at the top of their games. The 58,282 who died there were lost to our nation’s productive future. Their sacrifices, and those of all Americans in war, are the armature supporting “…one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”

A DONUT DOLLY

By J. Holley Watts

Harry G. Robinson III is Dean Emeritus of the School of Architecture and Design at Howard University. He is the first African-American elected president of the National Architectural Accrediting Board and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. He received the Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam.

None of us really knew what we were getting into.

The brochure said it was a morale program for the able-bodied. We staffed our centers so the men could come in and enjoy some coffee, Kool-Aid, conversation, card games, variety shows, whatever we could organize.

We went to the men in the field by helicopter, jimmy, jeep, or six-by to fire support bases, landing zones, field hospitals, and base camps.

We traveled in pairs, like nuns, one of us said, and used our programs to suspend their reality for just a little while.

Sometimes we’d join them to fill sandbags.

As if we kept score we’d always ask, “Hi, how are ya? Where ya from?” We were the face of the girl next door, a connection to family, community, home, and we were armed with smiles, a good ear for regional accents, and a quick wit.

Our official job title was Clubmobile Recre-

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ation Worker in the Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas program of the American Red Cross. Initially designed to support the morale of the troops in World War II’s European Theatre, buses were converted to mobile canteens for the fighting men — a place to relax with coffee, snacks, even a small library.

The Korean conflict demanded greater mobility, so 2½-ton specially adapted trucks replaced the buses, and hot freshly made donuts replaced the snacks. No one argued.

When the program went to Vietnam, heat and the helicopter killed the donut. The only survivor was the moniker “Donut Dolly” and even that took some time to arrive, coming into regular usage in the late 1960s.

Recently, one grunt told me he never participated in the games or even spoke to us, yet he was sure to be there whenever we visited. It was, he said, because we brought the gift of our presence, and in doing so helped save his sanity, while reminding him of his humanity. And for us, who were thousands of miles from home in a hostile environment, having left behind friends and family to serve our country by creating a touch of home in the field, we simply hoped it might really count for something.

Four or five decades later, that “something”

has counted. It’s been expressed in love, hugs, tears of gratitude, even an apology. The latter came from a chopper pilot who frequently took the Donut Dollies from one stop to another before heading back home with them at the end of a very long day. “We had a lot of unpleasant odors on that aircraft, but when the Donut Dollies got on board, their perfume was heavenly,” he said. (We Donut Dollies regarded perfume as part of our uniform.)

So, why the apology? “Because,” he said, “we always took the long way home.”

We made our way around a combat zone without weapons. The GIs both wanted to talk to us and couldn’t say a thing, wanted us to stay but couldn’t get us out of their areas fast enough.

We maintained our sanity with a sense of humor, especially initiating a new girl on her first Clubmobile run. Just prior to boarding the chopper, one of us would give the pilot a simple nod. His response was a just-so dip of the blades and the new girl’s skirt would fly straight up, usually accompanied by a scream and desperate attempts to push it back down, much to the delight of the crew and other Donut Dollies (who’d quickly tucked their skirts between their knees). Welcome to ’Nam.

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There are so many stories within The Wall.

In 1982 when The Wall was dedicated and its panels filled with more than 58,000 names of our military, I found it not only a place to honor those we’d lost but also an assurance, of sorts, that someone’s absence from The Wall meant more than likely that he’d survived — and in that alone, there’s hope.

I left Vietnam but, truth be told, it hasn’t left me. Triggered occasionally by the most ordinary sight, sound, or smell, I am instantly transported there, however briefly — and in this, I’m not alone.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I want my daughter to go? Never.

J. Holley Watts is author of “Who Knew? Reflections on Vietnam” (2004).

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WOMEN IN WARTIME: A NURSE REMEMBERS

By Diane Carlson Evans

My plane touched down in Vietnam on August 2, 1968. The blast of heat and the smell of jet fuel hit me first, then the sight of GIs with MI6s and bandoliers of ammunition slung across their strapping chests.

I choppered to the 36th Evacuation Hospital in Vung Tau, a seaside resort town about an hour’s drive from Saigon. My first day in the 60-bed unit was 105 degrees with no air-conditioning, not even on the burn ward. Only the OR, ICU, and Recovery Room had this luxury.

Huge floor fans chased around the fetid air. For me it didn’t matter, but it did for wounded GIs whose suffering was greatly compounded by the heat. They deserved better.

I was used to seeing trauma in Minnesota.

But there it was explicable: farm mishaps, auto accidents, drownings, and homicides. In Viet33

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nam, I was overwhelmed by the hundreds of our young soldiers, Vietnamese, and Montagnard civilians who had been blown apart by heinous weapons of war. I hadn’t realized how much loving the soldiers would make me hate the war.

Eddie Lee Evenson is the only patient whose name I remember. Eddie was from Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Angular and strong with a ready smile, he endeared himself to the corpsman and nurses. He came into the 36th with relatively minor injuries; after loaded with antibiotics and a delayed primary closure of his wounds, he had his sutures removed and was sent back to his infantry unit. In the meantime, helping us out relieved his high energy and boredom.

No job was too small for Eddie. He was sweet and respectful, and felt like a brother to me. When he went back to the field, he made me promise to write to him. We exchanged a few letters.

I was transferred to the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku. It was there that the manila envelope arrived. Eddie was dead. No. Eddie was too good to die. But the letter I sent him had not been opened. The commanding officer sending me this news said the letter was found on his body.

Mail call was a precious time. He hadn’t opened his mail yet. Like the rest of us, I knew he’d wait for the right time to open a letter and savor the words inside. I vowed to myself that I’d never get another message like this; I would never get as close to another soldier.

Forward to my first visit to The Wall: the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, November 11, 1982. It is an autumn morning in Washington, D.C. Though people surround me, I feel alone. If there is sound, I am not hearing it. If there is a feeling to this place, I am not experiencing it. Not yet. I am numb.

Ahead waits The Wall of black granite – carved with the names of more than 58,000 souls. Though I know that it is The Wall that has summoned me to this place, I still deny its power and meaning.

I stop when the granite plates loom before me, but still I cannot look up. Instead I gaze at the sandals, tennis shoes, penny loafers, flats, and boots. I focus on the combat boots. I feel dizzy. Do I know the man in those boots? How about the one to my left? To my right? Are any of them the patients who still live in my mind?

I wonder now about my own black leather combat boots. They must still be in the attic on the farm. My husband and children had never

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seen my uniform or boots, my medals, my photographs. My boots, if they still existed, would probably be caked with red dirt from the Pleiku highlands. They would be stained with my last patient’s blood. I wanted to look at them, hold them, and confirm that I actually wore them.

I brought one thing with me to D.C.: my boonie hat, with patches from the 44th Medical Brigade, 71st Evacuation Hospital. I push it back on my forehead a little as I finally look up at The Wall, and find the names I came for — Eddie Lee Evenson, Panel 28 W, Line 17, and Sharon Lane, Panel 23W, Line 112.

As I touch Eddie’s name, a man wearing a tattered, faded field jacket gently places his hand on my shoulder.

“Were you a nurse in Vietnam?”

“Yes,” I admit.

“I’ve waited 14 years to say this to a nurse,” he continues. His voice wavers, and tears pool in his eyes. “Thank you. I can never thank you enough. I love you. Thank you for being there.”

These simple words were the most profound words that I will ever remember. They were precious words, to him and to me. This wounded soldier had survived and he was grateful.

I feel something break inside of me. For the first time since Vietnam, I cry. I had been

terrified of crying, afraid that once I started I wouldn’t stop. Behind the tears was anger at the injustice, the futility, and the betrayals of war.

I finally had touched Eddie’s name as he had touched my life the day he was wounded, and Sharon’s. She was killed in Chu Lai on June 8, 1969, while I went about my duties in Pleiku.

The Vietnam veteran who embraced me that day near The Wall may never know that his act of love pressed me to embrace my own past. My life would never be the same again. I must have lived for a reason. There was something yet that I had to do with my life. In a spiritual and mysterious moment, Eddie and Sharon gave me permission to live, to feel, show emotion, and see again the faces of war. There would be a price for that. My battle with the Vietnam War was just beginning.

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Diane Carlson Evans is the founder and president of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation. She served in the Army Nurse Corps, 1968-69, in the Vung Tau and Pleiku provinces.

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Essays on loyalty __________________

Loyalty is a value showing our relationship to other people with whom we have a bond. This value is especially strong in times of war. As Americans, we also have loyalty to our nation and to our democratic principles. Loyalty is celebrated in the Education Center at The Wall.

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Our Mission Now: Keep the Memories Alive

By Major General Michael J. Nardotti, Jr., USA (Ret.)

I can’t say with certainty that I have become wiser with age, but I know that I see things much more clearly than I did years ago. It is that way with my Vietnam experience — the war and the years that followed.

It’s not that I fail to remember the very young men with whom I served and who saved my life. I will always remember them. I’m an old man now, and I still get down on my knees every night, as I did as a child, to thank the Lord for those brave men and others who served then and the men and women who serve today. They are worthy of special blessings.

It is those who were lost, though, that I think about most. Some were West Point classmates, others were friends, and still others I knew only 39

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essays o n l o yalty

briefly. Of course, at the time of their deaths, we mourned bitterly. When that mourning was done, though, we had to move on with our lives and we did. We knew then what it meant to lose close friends, men with whom we had essentially grown up. But it has taken a lifetime of experience and many blessings to truly appreciate what we lost, and more importantly, what they and their families sacrificed.

Twenty years after my graduation from West Point, our class began to meet every five years on our graduation anniversary date at the Vietnam Memorial to remember and honor our 18 classmates who died in Vietnam. We asked classmates and families to attend, as well as the wives, children, and parents of the classmates we lost.

On one of those occasions, I visited with the parents of a classmate who was a particularly good friend — a Long Island guy like me. It was a special pleasure to see his parents again after many years, good and kind and considerate people. Not a day has gone by since their son’s death that they don’t think of him. That deep wound in their hearts will never heal.

But the loss goes deeper than their son’s life alone. The many blessings that could have been multiply the loss. As we talked, our classmates began to gather for the ceremony, most

with their wives and some with children. As my friend’s parents observed these happy families, they thought of what could have been for their son — a happy and fulfilling life and family, and perhaps grandchildren — lots of them.

Nothing is assured in life, of course, and perhaps that would not have been. For each of the young men and brave soldiers lost, though, there was never even the chance. We lost them far too early, before their lives really had begun. We lost them because they were dedicated and courageous soldiers who answered the call of duty and paid the ultimate price.

Those of us who were fortunate enough to return know that the real heroes are those who did not. I know some Vietnam Veterans who experience guilt at having survived when others very close to them did not. I’m not sure I can ever have a satisfactory answer for those troops.

For me, however, it comes down to this: Whether we survived because we were protected or out of sheer luck does not matter. Survivor’s guilt has no purpose. With our survival, though, comes an obligation — the obligation to remember the fallen in whatever way we can. Our continuing mission is to keep their memories alive.

Virtually everyone who goes to The Wall has an emotional experience. For those of us who

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knew soldiers whose names appear on The Wall, the experience is more intense. Even for those who were born years after the war and who may not have known anyone who served in Vietnam, the experience is impactful. The enormity of the sacrifice in that war is driven home with a hard punch to the gut by the 58,000-plus names on The Wall.

For each of those names, there is a story untold. The mission of the Education Center at The Wall is to fill that void with pictures, letters, mementos, and memories to help those who read the names to get to know these men and women and to more fully appreciate their sacrifice.

It will be an enormous challenge, no doubt.

Now that almost 40 years have passed since the end of the war, finding pictures and memorabilia for each name on The Wall is close to mission impossible. We persist because we must. We’re now losing Vietnam Veterans at an ever-increasing rate.

Beyond the Education Center, those of us who served need to do more in ways only we can.

We knew these men and women. We lived with them, celebrated with them, suffered with them, and fought with them. When we talk about the war, we need to talk about those with whom we served, and most importantly, about those who

died. While we mourn their deaths, it is more important to celebrate their lives. Where would the nation be without such patriots?

Many years ago, I attended a ceremony at which President Reagan awarded a long-overdue Medal of Honor to an outstanding soldier, Sergeant First Class Roy Benevides. When he finished the extraordinary citation, the President asked rhetorically, “Where do we find such men?” We could ask the same question of each of those who died in Vietnam. In this country, the answer is: lots of places. We will see just how true that is when we can fill in the blanks for the thousands of names on The Wall.

It has been said, “A man is not dead until he is forgotten.” Someday all of us will be forgotten.

While we still can draw a breath, however, we cannot allow that to happen to our brothers in arms. The fight goes on.

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Michael J. Nardotti, Jr. is a retired Major General in the United States Army. Today, he serves as managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Patton Boggs.

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In early July 1970, I had just graduated from college, been commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and married the love of my life. One day my mom called to tell me that my dad’s helicopter was missing on a trip from Phuoc Vinh to Cam Rahn Bay in South Vietnam. Dad had just commanded the 1st Cavalry Division during its very successful operations in Cambodia.

As I walked into work the next morning, my eyes were drawn to the Washington Post lying on the counter. My dad’s picture was on the front page. The helicopter had crashed, and he and six others had been killed instantly en route to a hospital to visit wounded U.S. soldiers. It was a huge loss.

Millions of men and women have served in

our armed forces over the course of our country’s history. More than a million have made the ultimate sacrifice while securing our own liberties and bringing freedom to people all around the world. My dad had two brothers who served in World War II, he served in Korea and Vietnam, I served in Iraq, and my son served in Afghanistan. As a country, we are blessed to have had generation after generation of men and women who believe so strongly in American values and ideals that they were willing to place their lives on the line to secure them.

Such selfless patriotism is so essential to this country’s success that it cannot be taken for granted. In fact, it must be cultivated. Recognizing this, our country’s first president, George Washington, is credited with stating that the willingness with which young people are likely to serve in any war will depend on how the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.

I’ll admit that there were times in the years following our departure from Vietnam when I wasn’t sure if our family’s loss — or those of the 58,000-plus other families that sacrificed loved ones to Vietnam — was even recognized, let alone appreciated. As a country, the treatment of our Vietnam veterans was a national dis-

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ALWAYS VALUED, NEVER FORGOTTEN

By General George William Casey, Jr., USA (Ret.)

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grace. We can never again allow men and women in the service of their country to be treated with such disregard.

We cannot allow commitment and service to this country to be denigrated, and I believe that only by educating future generations about the mistakes of the past — particularly those made in the treatment of our Vietnam veterans and the families that lost loved ones in that war — can we prevent those mistakes from being made again. This also assures future generations that their service to the greatest nation on earth will always be valued and never forgotten.

George William Casey, Jr. retired in 2011 after 41 years of service to this country. He spent his last four years as the 36th Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Prior to that, he served as the Commanding General of the Multi-National Force — Iraq from 2004 to 2007, where he led the Iraq mission through its toughest days and set the conditions for our long-term success. His career included operational assignments in Germany, Italy, Egypt, Bosnia, and Iraq.

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ALL ABOUT TIME

By Alivia Tagliaferri

It was 2004 and I had just been formally introduced to The Wall by a stoic warrior who stood me before his fallen friends on Panel 17E and simply said: “Well guys, this is the one I was telling you about, the writer.” As I think about that day, a truth emerges that still holds true today: It is about time.

Time stands still at The Wall. You see, my friend wasn’t standing next to me; he was standing next to his friends in Vietnam, “the guys” – Harry, Leland, and Danny. Never aged, they are all alive, young, hungry, half-scared but too tired to care. Waiting for the next sound in a foreign jungle to set off their internal alarm; for the firefight to rush adrenaline through their bodies like a stampede, crushing all other cares except “stay alive” and “don’t get my buddies killed.”

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six months prior, I had been given an assignment with the USO Metro to videotape celebrities visiting and boosting morale of the war-wounded at Walter Reed Medical Center. I had never been to a military hospital, and at the time, had never met a casualty of war from this era. It was August 2003, and I will never forget walking the halls of that hospital in stunned silence. Men and women, missing arms and legs, blinded and burned, rode down the corridors in wheelchairs.

The impact was deep. I never read a newspaper report about our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the ticker news crawling on the bottom of the television screen, in the same way again.

I saw the look in the warriors’ faces; no report could really describe that look or what they had experienced. My assignment at Walter Reed ultimately changed my assignment in life. I wanted to help them heal through the power of story.

That November, I met a Vietnam veteran at a business luncheon. At the time, I did not know he had served, but when my colleague thanked him for his service and his three purple hearts, the old veteran fell silent. When he did speak, he shared something I will never forget.

“1967,” he said, “and I was 19 years old. I was in Vietnam for nine months. And in that nine month period of time, I lost my best friend,

held another in my arms as he lay dying, and lost every former sense of self I ever had.”

I was struck by the parallel. Nine months is the same amount of time a baby gestates in the womb. I’ve never been to war, I don’t know what it’s like to be a warrior, but I know what it’s like to be human. And I heard myself speak aloud.

“I don’t know what you went through, sir, but I can only imagine that going to war as a 19-year-old and coming out a different person must have felt like you were being born again.”

We locked eyes. “That’s exactly what it was like,” he replied. “Except this time, you’re not born with your innocence, you’re born without it.” After 40 years, this veteran is still coming home from Vietnam. He is still being born as a new man into his new life – reborn a warrior who must live as a civilian again. But the warrior is within, always within.

Later that weekend, I received a phone call.

It was the veteran. “I can’t stop thinking about what you said. About being born again.” We met that Sunday. And over the course of five hours, the old warrior began peeling back the layers of time and revealing his inner self. We met for another five hours every weekend for the following three months, each time drinking from a reservoir of memory that had been shunted the

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moment he came home.

And I learned. I learned about warriorship. I learned about bonds that never break. I learned about bravery being a by-product of trying to not get your friends killed. I learned that when a friend dies, something dies inside. I learned that when it’s time to pick up the pieces after battle, a switch turns on and a mantra takes over: “It’s just a thing. Ain’t nothing but a thing.” And I learned about time. What it does, how it works, its absence in the midst of a firefight, and its vacuum where nothing comes back out the same, if it ever comes back out at all.

On a mild January day, we met at the corner of Constitution Avenue and Henry Bacon Drive for our last Sunday meeting. There was one last thing to share: a formal introduction to “the guys” – Harry, Leland, and Danny, the guys who didn’t make it home.

Standing before his friends and our reflection, he introduced me to Harry, Leland, and Danny. “You asked me why I am doing this. Why am I telling you my story? Well, it’s for all the guys who came home, for all the guys who didn’t, and for my son, so that one day he may understand.”

What I’ve learned from these veterans, these families and these stories, is this: Time does not

lessen their loss. Time does not lose their faces, their traces, and their names. Time does not erase the good they created in this world.

As a civilian, I think the paradox of time is this: It takes time to realize the nature of yourself and others. I could not have grasped the depth of a veteran’s psyche had I not reached a point in my life where appreciation for other people’s experiences, sacrifices, and services would have context. Awareness takes time and maturation, and to some degree, age; however, not everyone operates on the same clock.

Time helps us appreciate those who serve.

Why? Because we have been given a glimpse to understand the depth of its nature and what it means, what it really means to serve. And when we do, we realize that every day is Veterans Day. Like I said, it’s all about time.

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Alivia Tagliaferri is an author, documentary filmmaker, and playwright.

Inspired by the stories the old veteran shared and the sacred stories she heard at The Wall, as well as her experience at Walter Reed, she has published: “Beyond the Wall: The Journey Home” (historical fiction); “Beyond the Wall” (stage play); “Beyond the Wall: Homeless Zone” (short documentary); and “Profiles in Service: It Takes A Nation” (short documentary).

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It was April 1968, and training had been suspended.

I leaned up against the truck’s deep-treaded tire, smoking a Winston from a soft pack. It was a big ol’ deuce and a half…more diesel and grease than truck. The light spring breeze kicked up a dust devil in the parking lot. Exhaling a swirl of white smoke, I started running a jingle through my head: “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should. Hmmm…like a cigarette should.”

What “should” we be doing — a bunch of college dropouts at Fort Bragg thinking we were faster, smarter, and a whole lot deadlier than the law allowed? The third brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division had already left for something called the Tet Offensive. The night they got their orders, they flowed into our barracks to use the phones to call home and say they were headed back to the Nam. They wore their combat badges over their jump wings, overseas unit designations that

read like the paratroopers Who’s Who of combat operations in Southeast Asia: the 82nd, the 101st, the 173rd, and the 1st Air Cav. They were white and black and hardly any of them older than 20.

Those of us left at Fort Bragg were going through Special Forces training, and for only the second time in Army history, training had been suspended.

The Reverend Martin Luther King had been assassinated in Memphis. The country was burning, and we were shipping out to Detroit, if the looting and killing there continued to escalate. Our riot training consisted of three brief orders: (1) You will lock and load your weapons only when you are specifically ordered to do so; (2) you will fire your weapon only when you are specifically ordered to do so; and (3) you will not wear anything which identifies you as a member of the United States Army Special Forces Training Group. We were reduced to looking like army recruits. If asked, we were just there to do a job.

Fashion was one thing; self-defense was quite another. If we were going to be stripped of our identities, we weren’t going to be stripped of our ability to defend ourselves. The rationale was that it was better to walk into a court martial than to be carried to your grave. Mutual defense pacts with roommates and buddies were hastily negotiated:

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BEFORE VIETNAM

By David Lucier

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“You watch my back, I’ll watch yours.” “Screw those orders, you lock and load and I’ll lock and load.”

Bravado soon gave way to troublesome questions. Is this what we’d signed up to do? Vietnam was the mission; communism was the target.

But this was America, and now, my first mission might be in Detroit.

America was burning, her leaders were being killed, campuses were in chaos, and families and communities were divided. Standing there smoking, staring up at the Carolina Blue sky, I couldn’t reconcile the pure spring day with the idea that the country was burning down its urban city centers and the heart and souls of its citizens.

It was beginning to look all very complicated and all very confusing — just a few short months before I went to Vietnam in the fall of 1968.

David Lucier entered the U.S. Army in 1967 at the age of 19.

He advanced to Special Forces training and was authorized to wear the Green Beret. In 1968, he volunteered for a Special Forces A-Team, which was involved in special operations throughout Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Lucier was highly decorated for both valor and meritorious service. After his military career, he worked for the Department of Defense in Iraq and the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan.

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I AM AN AMERICAN

By C.J. Cole

I am an American. I believe in the men and women who fight to keep me free, and I honor those who have fallen before. I am an American, and I support my troops, regardless of the reason they are required to fight.

I was raised in the era of the Vietnam War. One time, we were on vacation, visiting relatives in Illinois. I was 11 and bored. We stopped at a farmers market, and I wasted some time wandering through piles of stuff on tables. I picked up a silver bracelet with a name and a date engraved on it, and a man walked over and carefully knelt down beside me.

He asked if I knew what I was holding, and I shook my head. He pointed to the name on the bracelet and told me this man is a hero, and his name is on this bracelet because he is missing in action in Vietnam.

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his head. He put the bracelet on my wrist, squeezed it tight, and he asked me to never forget the name engraved there. I am looking at that POW-MIA bracelet right now, and today, I want him to live in your hearts for a few moments.

His name was CWO Bobby McKain, and he was a Kansas boy. At the young age of 22, he was a highly trained AH-1G helicopter pilot flying an armed and very dangerous escort for a recon mission in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. It was approximately 2 p.m. on May 3, 1968, and his co-pilot was WO Arthur Chaney.

Eyewitness accounts say that they were hit by 37mm anti-aircraft fire from an enemy ground position as they flew at about 1,500 feet.

The helicopter spun to the ground in a ball of flames, impacted, and moments later, all of the ammunition aboard detonated.

Because of the close proximity to occupied enemy territory, heavy artillery action that prevented a body search, and the eyewitness accounts, both men were presumed killed in action. Later attempts to locate the wreckage failed, and they were both listed as possible POW/MIA.

In 1985, an American citizen who had ties to some refugees turned over five bundles of hu-

man remains reported to be American military.

They were able to identify 13 of 14 crewmen of a 1972 crash over Laos, but there were bones and teeth that were still a mystery.

In approximately 2007, the Army requested DNA samples from the family members of still missing soldiers, and in 2008, they identified the bone fragments and teeth as belonging to Bobby. On August 11, 2008, CWO Bobby L. McKain came home. He was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery with full honors. WO Arthur F. Chaney was laid to rest on September 16 of the same year.

I was lucky enough to correspond with Bobby’s parents many years ago, and his mother asked me to keep the bracelet so that Bobby would not be forgotten. I have done so for these many years. I am proud to have kept his name in my thoughts.

Remember that when we spend time outdoors with friends and loved ones and enjoy some time off work, the real reason we are able to do so is because of men like Bobby, and the men and women who have made, and continue to make, the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.

Should you like to thank my friend Bobby, you will find him on Panel 54E, Line 027 on The

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Wall in Washington, D.C. He is there along with 58,282 others who were killed, captured, or still lost.

Please don’t forget them.

C.J. Cole is the general manager of a small country radio station and a newspaper advice columnist on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 

Essays on duty

Pictured at left is Bobby McKain.

Bobby L. McKain is remembered on Panel 54E, Row 27 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Duty is what allows each of us to fulfill our obligations to other people and to our communities.

For Americans at war, duty means more than that. Duty means being able to accomplish tasks as part of a team. Duty can also mean the willingness to lay down your life in combat. These essays will help readers better understand some of the thinking of those who volunteered out of a sense of duty to the nation in time of war.

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As I reflect on a life that has been blessed in so many ways, the first critical event came for me at age 18, when I received my appointment to the Naval Academy. Although no one in my family had ever worn the uniform, I instinctively realized that we needed a strong military to thwart the Communist effort to achieve world domination. I was quoted in the local newspaper at the time that I was going to Annapolis because “I hope someday to be in a position to serve my country and to deter war.”

Later, as captain of Navy’s 1963 Cotton Bowl team (with the likes of Roger Staubach and other men of such character), I learned the true meaning of teamwork and selfless determination to achieve a goal. However, it wasn’t until the early stages of my career as a professional Naval

officer that I realized what a privilege it was to serve the nation in uniform and to have the opportunity to lead, guide, and develop the finest young men and women our country has to offer.

Although my teammate Marine Lieutenant Tom Holden and nine other Academy classmates are named on the Vietnam Wall, our time in service captured the Cold War period. I did not serve in Vietnam, nor have I ever fired a shot in anger. However, we trained at sea in carrier battle groups and were prepared for any eventuality.

One clear example occurred in August 1990 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The National Command Authority’s response (Desert Shield) was to position our forces worldwide to deter further Iraqi aggression and to begin preparations for eventual eviction of the Iraqi army. As the Eisenhower Battle Group commander, I was ordered to transit the Suez Canal and be in position to prevent the Iraqi army from continuing south to Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, this allowed the NCA to marshal forces for Operation Desert Storm.

At sea, we trained the way we planned to fight — and the Soviets knew it. This strategy resulted in death and injury at times, yet through it all, we demonstrated our strength and our resolve to deter war. The end result was Glasnost

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THE RESPONSIBILITY WE SHARE

By Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, USN (Ret.)

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and a more stable world. If for no other reason, I am proud to have served.

In my opinion, the Education Center at The Wall is critically important to our future national security. As Americans, we have a responsibility to educate our youth on the meaning of service to country. With less than a quarter of our draftage population qualified to serve in the armed forces, those of us who have served must instill in this generation that service to country is a responsibility that we share as free people.

And now, with many years of hindsight and the firsthand experience of serving in uniform for more than 30 years, I better understand what I instinctively knew as a high school senior: There is no more noble calling than that of serving your fellow man. The Education Center will aid that effort by remembering and honoring those who can teach us best about what it means to serve your country.

Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch retired from the Navy in 1995 and now is chairman of NewDay USA. His 31-year Naval career included command of the Eisenhower Battle Group during Operation Desert Shield and serving as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.

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HONOR THE OBLIGATION

By Captain Robert McWethy, USA (Ret.) I was in the U.S. Naval Academy class of 1942; however, we graduated and were commissioned in December 1941. In January 1942, I arrived at Pearl Harbor and saw the devastation. Sunken ships and oil slicks were everywhere. Many, many sailors were entombed on those ships. I anticipated the same fate in World War II but was determined to do my duty for our nation.

I volunteered for submarine duty, and the Navy changed my orders. The seven-days-a-week training was expedited and intense in New London, Connecticut. I was soon back to the Pacific in search of enemy ships to engage.

I remember sinking our first ship. We sailed from Midway Island to the coast of Japan where ships were spotted. We fired three torpedoes, and there was a tremendous explosion. Suddenly, a Destroyer came at us dropping depth 63

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charges. Miraculously, we survived. This was the first of many close calls that I experienced.

As the war continued, we sank a destroyer and a Japanese submarine, among other ships. We sank a number of these ships with night surface attacks, which most people are surprised to find out.

Starting in April 1943, we made six war patrols. They were all rated successful, netting a total of 24 Japanese ships and smaller craft by torpedoes and deck gun. I was awarded a Silver Star for one of the patrols. When the going got tough, we knew that those fighting on the beaches were even worse off.

I went on to complete a 30-year career as a Naval officer. I am now almost 94 years old.

I read newspapers and listen to the news every day, work on crossword puzzles, mow the lawn, and even still play golf occasionally. When asked what I think American citizens need to do, my reply is that everyone should feel and honor the obligation to do something to help in their local communities or for the nation as a whole.

Bob McWethy is a retired Navy captain. He is a recipient of several awards during his career, including the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and two Navy commendation medals, one with a Combat “V”.

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JOURNEY WILL TAKE THE REST OF MY LIFE

By Richard Lieb

Growing up in the 1960s in Belmont (a suburb of Boston) meant that you were steeped in the Jack Kennedy notions of patriotism, idealism, and service. My godfather, a World War II Seabee with a nose on his left cheek from some Seabee brawl, worked on all of Jack Kennedy’s campaigns. I heard often that Jack and his brother, Joe, probably could have avoided combat, but instead both chose to risk their lives. Joe died while flying a combat aircraft.

My dad owned a deli in Belmont. He had five employees working for him and as many family members as possible because they worked for free. He and my mom worked 90 hours a week to make a living, which meant paying your bills for food and housing and occasional Red Sox games.

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and again how great this country is to allow him the opportunity to run a business.

Three great men — my father, my godfather, and our 36th president —had an incredible sense of patriotism, love of country, and devotion to service, as well as an overwhelming impact on my life and my values. Consequently, I believed I owed my country my service in the military after college.

I enlisted in the Marines in 1966 as a sophomore in college, beginning an officer program in the summer of 1967. I finished that program in 1968, was commissioned when I graduated in 1969, and served in Vietnam as an infantry officer in 1970.

The feelings of my godfather and father about our country mirrored the feelings of the Marines I served with in Vietnam. On one hand, their patriotism is simple, direct, earnest, and unaffected; it is also powerful, complicated, and sophisticated. Their emotions speak powerfully about shared sacrifice, love of country, honor, and courage. These humble men did not speak directly these words when they talked of their love for the United States, but those were the feelings in their hearts.

I came out of the bush on February 12, 1971 to go home. I left Vietnam on February 17, my

23rd birthday, to go to Okinawa. I walked into my parents’ deli nine days later. At the time, I did not understand that the journey from Vietnam to my home would not be completed on that day. In fact, that journey would take most of the rest of my life. The Wall has helped me almost finish that journey.

The power of the Education Center is in its simplicity. It will reinforce the power of a name, a dog tag, a photo, a note, a pair of boots. I can see my father and godfather going by The Wall and through the Education Center. I can see them nodding their heads because they understand the tragedies of war.

I like to imagine that at the end of the journey, they would look at me and feel incredible pride in the values they imparted to me: patriotism, honor, courage, and loyalty.

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Richard Lieb is a retired executive vice president of SEI Investments, where he spent most of his career and still serves on its board of directors.

Following his service as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, he received a master’s degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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I did not fight in Vietnam, but the two most influential men in my life did: my father and my wife’s father. One was wounded; one was killed.

The story of our families’ sacrifices reflects the sacrifices made by so many in all wars.

In 1975, I graduated from West Point. Just a month before our graduation, the American embassy in Saigon fell to the communist North Vietnamese Army. The West Point faculty had made the history they taught us, but now, they questioned their sacrifices. They had buried their roommates, felt the pains of that war, and many were physically and psychologically spent.

Was it worth it?

As cadets we were trained to obey, follow orders, and live disciplined lives. What is little known is that within its world of rules and square corners, the military also demands that its service members be creative problem-solv-

ers. Understanding that no plan survives the first contact with the enemy, soldiers must adapt.

The Vietnam generation of leaders adapted magnificently. As America was torn apart by a cultural revolution that fundamentally put our nation at risk, this generation of military leaders stood firm. They remained the stiff resistance to that chaos that thrived in uncertainty. It’s no exaggeration that they helped save our nation.

They were there whenever needed, growing a new generation of leadership in uniform that brought us triumph over communism and a new standard of liberty to which nations, old and new, aspire. These guys are why I served, and I truly thank them for their example.

I am the son of a soldier, who was the son of a soldier who married the daughter of a soldier.

Every day I pray my service was worthy of their example.

The Education Center is being designed as a place to elevate service and show appreciation for those who fought for our nation’s freedom.

Our legacy began in 1775 and continues today through countless examples of sacrifice by our troops around the globe, protecting the freedoms earned by those before us.

It is right to have such an inspiring place

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OUR FIRST DUTY

Major General James “Spider” Marks, USA (Ret.)

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to create profound educational experiences for our citizens and other visitors from all over the world. The first duty of a soldier is to remember.

Let’s remember together, here.

Major General James “Spider” Marks was the commanding general of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2004 and was a frequent contributor to the BBC as well as a military analyst for CNN. From 2006-2009, he served as the first CEO of Global Linguist Solutions, a company that provides interpreters, translations, and linguistic support to the U.S. military effort in Iraq.

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I DID MY PART

By John Weber

American patriotism demands more of a citizen than taking off your hat when hearing the national anthem. It is, or should be, an inherent sense of devotion to fellow Americans. Our elected officials make grave decisions when choosing to send their fellow citizens into battle.

We should all feel a bit of discomfort whenever Americans are in harm’s way on our behalf.

I grew up in southern Illinois near St. Louis.

Dad was a truck driver. It was 1968, and I was about to graduate from high school when I started feeling that discomfort.

Friends were being drafted who really did not want to fight in a war, but went anyway. I was young and able-bodied and did not feel that I was special. I felt compelled to serve, so I volunteered for the draft and was in combat with the Americal Division in Quang Tri within five months of my 18th birthday. As Americans, we can be thankful that there were a lot of people 71

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who did the same thing and felt the same way.

In March 1969, I was wounded badly. I ended up in a hospital in Japan where a battle raged with the bacteria that had entered my body from the wounds. While I nearly died, the injuries were a blessing in disguise. I was able to go to college. I went to law school and am considered quite successful. My dad died a few years back proud of his son.

We don’t have to believe in war, but we must believe in our devotion to each other.

John Weber is a partner in BakerHosteller’s Washington, D.C. office, heading up the Intellectual Property, Technology and Media Group. He served in the U.S. Army infantry from 1968 to 1970 and was awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

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WHY WE CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR MISSING SOLDIERS

By Sergeant Major Danang McKay, USA

I’m constantly reminded of why we continue America’s search for our missing heroes; at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, we deploy between 60 and 70 teams a year to search for, recover, and identify these heroes.

It’s important to pay tribute to those men and women who, above all, demonstrated the highest degree of duty, honor, selfless service, and personal courage. We learn from their example and benefit from their sacrifices every day.

As the son of a Vietnam War veteran – I was named after the city of Da Nang in Vietnam – I have learned what the solemn promise between service members truly means, especially one made in combat. These brave individuals have made America the greatest country in the world.

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I’ve been asked, “Why do we continue to search?” Our mission of accounting for the missing is the embodiment of this nation’s commitment to those it sends into harm’s way. We are keeping that promise to every soldier, sailor, airman, and marine (and to their families) that should they fall in battle while serving their nation, the United States will make every effort to return them to their families.

We take very seriously our obligation to keep the families and the American public fully informed about our sacred mission. Our mission stems from a solemn promise that the U.S. government made to those who fought for our freedom and still holds today: He or she will not be forgotten. Every American who gave their life in defense of our nation is entitled to that certainty, and it’s for that reason that we, as a nation, remain committed to recovering, identifying, and honoring our missing. Even though these answers sometimes come decades after an American went missing, we strive to ultimately provide families with information about their loved ones’ service and sacrifice.

I’m especially proud to not only serve my nation today, but to also represent the men and women of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command. It would be an understatement to

say that serving JPAC is incredibly humbling, and I believe there’s no greater privilege than to honor our fallen and their sacrifices. Above all, the men and women under my command believe in duty, honor, respect, selfless service, and personal courage. Too many families continue to grieve for their missing loved ones; it’s our duty to now serve those families in their quest for answers until they are home.

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U.S. Army Sergeant Major Danang McKay is the Command Senior Enlisted Leader at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.

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Essays on Respect __________________

We tell our military forces to “treat others with dignity and respect while expecting others to do the same.” Respect is what allows us to appreciate the best in other people. Respect for others, even if you disagree with them, is an important value. These essays teach profound lessons about respect as understood and demonstrated by members of our Armed Forces.

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DEFENDING AMERICA

By General Barry R. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.)

During the Great Depression, my grandfather — an Irish immigrant firefighter in Taunton, Massachusetts — put all four of his kids through college. Both boys fought in World War II, one in the Army Air Corps in Europe and one on a Navy cruiser at sea in the Pacific.

Mother and her sister both married West Pointers from the class of 1939. My uncle served with great courage as a battalion commander in the 2nd Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge. My dad went to West Point because he was a superb athlete and a bright boy with no money. He served as an infantry officer in the Italian theater and was highly decorated for valor. He ended the war as a 26-yearold full colonel and was headed for the invasion of Japan when President Truman ended the war with two atomic weapons. Dad went on to serve in combat in Korea and Vietnam. My wife’s 77

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father served as an infantry officer with the 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific with three combat jumps.

All of this meant our family’s next generation was given a great example by World War II veterans who had a huge sense of responsibility. My cousin served as an infantry officer in Vietnam with great courage. My sister’s husband was killed-in-action with a Vietnamese Ranger battalion in 1964 and received the first Distinguished Service Cross of the war. My wife’s brother served bravely as a long-range reconnaissance patrol team leader in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division.

During four combat tours and more than 32 years of service, I was wounded three times. On my third combat tour from 19681969, I commanded B Company 2nd Battalion 7th Cavalry in III Corps. The experience made a huge impact on everything I’ve done since.

19-year-old draftee soldiers. 21-year-old draftee lieutenants. The first sergeant and I had already completed two combat tours and were normally the only two returning army soldiers in the field. We would both be wounded again.

Service in Vietnam with a rifle company in combat was incredibly brutal. We lived like animals and dug like moles. Firefights were

desperate engagements crawling around in the mud, fighting at close range with hand grenades and automatic weapons.

The young soldiers and instant non-commissioned officers were superb. Courageous. Funny. Great initiative. Strong and resilient to the constant injuries they incurred.

They never, never would leave their buddies under fire. Casualties were severe. Every two years, the veterans of B Company meet at The Wall and remember the days when we took care of each other in Vietnam combat. We are still taking care of each other.

Throughout my career, when promoted to a higher rank, I explained that I was an infantry company commander temporarily serving at a higher grade.

My son and daughter also served in the Army. My son just retired after 26 years of service and three combat tours. He proudly wears the Combat Infantry Badge with Star.

America is the richest nation in the history of mankind. Our values are an example of civic responsibility to the world. Our schools, our medical system, our scientists, our farmers, and our entrepreneurs are without equal. However, at the end of the day, the nation cannot survive unless its sons and daughters will step

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forward and defend us.

Barry R. McCaffrey is a retired United States Army General, NBC and MSNBC news commentator, and business consultant. He received three Purple Heart medals for injuries sustained during his service in Vietnam, two Silver Stars for valor, and two Distinguished Service Crosses.

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A SIMPLE REQUEST

By Dr. Michael McClung

I enlisted in the Marines on Mother’s Day 1964 and served until 1979. During deployments to Vietnam and Okinawa, I left my wife and two children and was away during the early years of our marriage. It was God, corps, and country, and then family.

As a Vietnam veteran, I am honored by several individuals who form my legacy and symbolize for me all others who have served and sacrificed. These individuals include my father, Colonel Boyd McClung, who entered the U.S. Army in 1942, fought in Italy, and served with the occupation forces in Germany; my father-in-law, Stan Blumenthal, who joined the U.S. Navy in October 1942 and served for 20 years before retiring as a commander; my Basic School roommate, Joseph T. Laslie, Jr., who was one of 689 2nd lieutenants to die in Vietnam; and my fellow platoon commander and best man at my wedding, Colonel William 81

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“Rich” Higgins, who while on a U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon was captured, tortured for two years, and eventually hung by a group allied with Hezbollah.

I think of them often and speak their names at every opportunity.

My daughter, Megan, did not tell my wife and me that she was planning to attend the Naval Academy. We discovered that Meg planned to be an infantry officer in the Marines. I pointed out that the law did not allow that. Upon finishing TBS, she said she was going to be a public affairs officer. We thought this had wonderful potential for a job after her service, but she said, “Nope, this way I can go anywhere the Infantry does, and I don’t have to worry about the law.”

Arriving in Iraq for the second time in 2006, Captain Megan Malia McClung worked as the embed coordinator for I MEF. She already knew everyone of importance after her first tour and eventually convinced the powers that be to allow her to conduct the first Marine Corps Marathon ever held outside the United States — and remarkably, the first marathon ever held in Iraq.

After her promotion to major, Megan jumped on the opportunity to become the U.S. Army’s Ready First combat brigade’s public affairs officer. She felt that her assignment in Fal-

lujah was too far to the rear. She was running to the sound of the guns. The commanding officer, Colonel Sean MacFarland, reported that Megan had a major impact on the morale of his soldiers.

While escorting a journalist after a meeting with Sheikh Sittar of the Anbar Awakening, Megan was killed on December 6, 2006, by an improvised explosive device in Ar Ramadi. The same explosion that wrecked Megan’s HUMVEE killed Captain Travis Patriquin and Specialist Vincent Pomante.

Megan said that if she had to die, she wished it would be in a spectacular manner while on a magnificent adventure. She was living that adventure in the Marines. When asked if I would change Megan’s life, I answer that I would not change a thing. Megan wanted a life of challenge, service, and sacrifice, and I would not deny her that.

After burying our daughter, people sought us out to tell us how she affected their lives.

They continue her legacy of being “present” with everyone, and they name their daughters after her. We received a package from Afghanistan with mementos from this year’s MC Marathon at Camp Leatherneck. Included were thanks for Megan’s ability to make a lasting change in people’s lives.

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All of the people mentioned here committed to serving our country at any level of sacrifice.

Our spouses served alongside by foregoing careers, stable homes, and often the companionship and comfort of loved ones. Service permeates all we do. You can see it in the men and women of the Armed Forces today, who give time and talents to help others. When not in combat, we respond to earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, and fires.

Now that the Education Center has broken ground, I make a simple request of you. If you do not know a name on The Wall — or one in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery for service men and women who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan — choose one. Find out all you can and tell their story to anyone who will listen. We who have fought have a legacy of service; we only ask that you let us know that we are not forgotten.

NOW I LET THE TEARS FALL FREELY Lieutenant Colonel Justin Constantine, USMC (Ret.)

Dr. Michael McClung was a former Marine captain and earned the Vietnam Service Medal. His daughter, Megan (at left), was the first female Marine Corps officer killed in combat in Iraq. Dr. McClung passed away recently; this essay is based on his remarks at the groundbreaking of the Education Center last year.

Although I didn’t know any of the 58,282 names on The Wall, I probably took 10 steps before I started crying. I was in high school, and as The Wall sloped and grew taller than me, I was overwhelmed by the names that never seemed to end. I remember being embarrassed by my tears, not understanding where they came from.

I still cry every time I go back, but now I let the tears fall freely.

Today’s generation of service members — especially wounded warriors like me — would have so little if it weren’t for our Vietnam veterans. They suffered a deep dishonor and then vowed to never let it happen again. They work relentlessly on legislation to help all of us returning from war. Many of these vets mentor and take care of our wounded warriors in a way

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nobody else can. They truly welcome us home.

I can’t imagine the terrible conditions in Vietnam. But life in Iraq in 2006 was not easy either. Our constant foot patrols, combined with the intense heat and carrying 65 pounds of weapons and gear, made for long days. Every day presented a very real danger of stepping on or driving over an improvised explosive device, engaging in deadly firefights with a determined enemy, or not making it into a bunker before incoming rockets and mortars exploded.

It was especially hard for those Marines rotating through the forward-operating bases; their Spartan schedule was grueling. They fought with insurgents daily, had no running water, and their food was so bad that I still remember how happy they were when I handed them ketchup and mustard packets I had grabbed from our chow hall.

I remember a memorial service in our unit, not long after I arrived in Iraq. I stood in the back of the packed, stuffy room and looked down the aisle at the six sets of boots, rifles, helmets, and dog tags. I had seen these young guys hug each other before heading out on patrol — real hugs like they might not see each other again.

I asked the battalion commander how he dealt with memorial services for Marines who

looked like they could still be in high school. He sighed, looked down, and said that it never gets any easier. And although it never gets any easier for me to think about it, I don’t want to forget those young men. And I don’t want to forget about our Vietnam veterans — or for that matter, any of our veterans who sacrificed their lives for us. I don’t want the American public to forget either.

We are all lucky that VVMF is building this incredible Education Center at The Wall and expanding its scope to include today’s warfighters.

On the day it opens, I will let the tears fall freely.

I am proud and honored to be included with the Vietnam veterans, and hope that I live up to their high standards of courage, loyalty, and service.

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Lieutenant Colonel Justin Constantine recently retired from the Marine Corps with more than 16 years of active and reserve service. While on a routine combat patrol in Iraq, an enemy sniper shot him in the head, causing severe damage to his jaw and face. Today, as a widely acclaimed speaker on overcoming adversity, teamwork, leadership, and the power within each of us, Constantine is an inspiration to wounded warriors everywhere. He is a recipient of the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.

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The Band recorded the song “The Weight” in 1968. I arrived in Vietnam that same year and left in late 1969. I spent most of my tour with Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines as a platoon commander in the bush. I first heard the song while I was still in country. Although it’s full significance didn’t sink in right away, “The Weight” struck me even then as yet another metaphor for the war. Gradually it would dawn on me that the song is about laying down burdens, and it appeared we were going to have a lot to learn about that. But, this would all come much later.

When I came home, I assumed I would just move on. I got married, went back to school, got a job, had kids, and did the other things that seemed normal. I had been back 15 years when my family and I made our first visit to The Wall.

It may have actually been the first real step home from Vietnam, but it was going to take a while to grasp the weight of that.

As veterans returned from Vietnam, there wasn’t much incentive to talk about our experiences. Much of the difficulty stems from the fact that veterans came back filled with conflicting emotions. Pride, shame, anger, regret, and sadness were among them, but perhaps the one that surprised us the most was homesickness.

We were, to our dismay, homesick for Vietnam.

Not homesick for the war, but for the others who were still there. A lot of us weren’t quite sure how we got back, or in fact, whether we deserved to be here.

Deserved or not, we’re here, and we now have an opportunity to do something we couldn’t do back then. The Education Center at The Wall will give us a chance to pay our respects in a way that will help the families of Vietnam veterans who died there as well as the veterans who didn’t. However, even as we try to tell our stories, questions arise. How much of the story do I tell? What do families and friends really want to know? Am I even worthy of telling their stories?

PFC James Stingley‘s story is one that I found particularly difficult to tell. James was a young Marine from Durant Mississippi. He was a college graduate with a degree in accounting, and had a two-month-old daughter. Few of us

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knew any of this about James, but he was well liked by his fellow Marines.

On the days leading up to August 25, 1969, our Battalion had been in almost constant combat. As we moved out that morning, we knew contact with the NVA was certain. James, fully aware of the danger, took his position with the point squad without hesitation. I can imagine him thinking, “I don’t really want to be here, but if it’s not me, it will be one of my friends.” As they moved through a tree line, the NVA opened up with mortars, RPGs, and heavy machine guns. He and two other Marines died in the initial volley.

At that point, we were out of ammunition and withdrew under cover of darkness. James and the other two Marines were left on the battlefield that night. We went back early the next morning, and under covering fire, several marines went into the open to bring back the Marines. I helped another Marine bring James back. I didn’t know who he was at the time. I don’t remember who the Marine was who helped me. It didn’t seem important then.

The choppers arrived, took away the dead and wounded, and we moved on.

Now I’m beginning to realize that there are a lot of stories like James Stingley’s and that

the details are indeed important. James has a daughter somewhere who never knew him and may have no idea of the kind of man he was or what his fellow Marines did to make sure he got home. I didn’t know James, but I can still feel the weight of him.

The Wall has helped to heal a lot of people.

It has quite literally become the touchstone for veterans and families alike. Alone, however, there’s only so much The Wall can do. Soon, the Education Center will begin doing what The Wall can’t — bringing stories home before we lose them. The dedicated people at VVMF are working hard to collect these stories. Unfortunately, considering the age of the average Vietnam vet, there is limited time left. VVMF needs some help from us to complete its mission.

The Wall really can keep the memory of these names alive. If a weighty hunk of black granite can do that, I can only imagine what the Education Center will be capable of.

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Charlie Vallance is vice president of nuclear power services for Underwater Engineering Services. He served in Vietnam from 1968-69 as a platoon commander with Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines.

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Sadly, every generation has its own war. My war was Vietnam, and I’ve always had deep feelings about how our soldiers were treated when they returned. I never knew what I could do for them until five years ago when we took our first trip to Washington, D.C.

Even though I didn’t know anyone killed in Vietnam, my cousins had served, and it was important for me to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and get a rubbing. I chose Major Gregory J. Crossman MIA and made my rubbing of his name, never imagining the profound effect The Wall would have on my life.

I decided to find Gregory’s family in hopes that they would share a photo of him. I wanted to see his face. For six months I searched for them, and then it hit me: Gregory was 26 years old when his plane was shot down. It was likely his parents were not alive.

My cousin is our family historian, and within

weeks she found Gregory’s photo in his college yearbook. I cried when I received it. I made a scrapbook about our trip to Washington D.C., and dedicated a page to Gregory with his profile, his rubbing, and his photo.

Two years later, I heard the call for photos for the “Faces Never Forgotten” project at the new Education Center at The Wall. I made a copy of Gregory’s photo and sent it to VVMF. I received an email from Jan Scruggs, thanking me and asking if I could help find photos of the Maui fallen heroes.

Maui has been my home for more than 20 years.

I was given a list of 42 names. I scoured phone books, calling anyone with the same last name as our Maui boys. I visited every high school on Maui and looked up every name on the local newspaper microfiche. The more I researched, the more passionate I became. These boys were not just names to me anymore.

About halfway through, the Maui News helped me get the story out. Photos poured in from all over the U.S., and on October 16, 2011, I received the last photo of our 42 Maui fallen heroes. These were fun-loving young men, living the good life here in Hawaii. To date, I have not found one of the Maui fallen who was drafted — they all volunteered.

Meeting their families and friends has been

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LESSONS FROM MAUI

By Janna Livesay Hoehn

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priceless. Walter Rickard, the first soldier killed from Maui, was of Hawaiian descent. After my call to his family, Walter’s sister and I corresponded every month. Eventually, this Hawaiian family invited me to be a part of their Ohana (family) and gave me a Hawaiian name, Imi Loa, which means “the researcher.” This is one of the greatest honors of my life.

One thing that touched my heart is the support from Maui’s living veterans. No one ever wants to be forgotten, and I will never forget any of them. They have done more for me than I have done for them.

How do you begin to repay the sacrifices our soldiers make in times of war? The best way is by remembering and paying respect to each and every one. Seeing their names with their faces in the Education Center will change the whole dynamic of The Wall. Reading their stories, they become real people, and the effect will be profound and personal.

Janna Livesay Hoehn is a freelance floral designer living on Maui, whose life has been deeply touched and inspired by The Wall.

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By Congressman Brett Guthrie When I first came to Washington, D.C. as a youngster, I was so impressed at the monuments honoring Americans with their legacies truly larger than life. George Washington and the Washington Monument is a shining example. Abraham Lincoln, born in my great state of Kentucky, is also remembered in a magnificent manner at a place that Americans revere, the Lincoln Memorial.

My youth was fleeting. The next thing I knew I was a cadet at West Point, and then an Army officer leading America’s soldiers. This was followed by a successful bid for Congress.

When I returned to Washington, D.C., I noticed something really impressive and interesting. There were more memorials honoring Americans, but not individual Americans. The new memorials honored groups of Americans, 95

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groups like the millions who served in Vietnam and those from World War II and Korea.

The new memorials honored military veterans who served and risked their lives. This all started with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated in 1982. The memorial was brought about by a group of veterans who wanted their sacrifices to be remembered and the names of the fallen engraved for all to see. The Wall has been a great success. In fact, The Wall made the veterans of Korea and World War II demand their own national memorials.

We live in a free country because of those who have been wiling to fight in our armed forces in the past and because of those who are willing to do so now and in the future. The Education Center at The Wall will be a place to celebrate just such service. Through the latest media technology, the Education Center will showcase America’s Legacy of Service from 1775 to the present. It will be connected to The Wall through exhibits of the more than 400,000 items left there by visitors from year to year.

A wall of faces will be shown of those who gave their lives in Vietnam. In addition, every hour there will be a powerful display of the more than 7,000 who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Education Center will re-

veal to us how much we owe the special people who gave up their yesterdays for our tomorrows.

We are taught in the Bible that “greater love hath no man than this — that he give up his life for his friends.” America is the land of the free. America is also the home of the brave. The brave have kept us free. Let’s thank them by supporting the Education Center at The Wall.

Let’s build this sacred place to remember.

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Brett Guthrie (R) has been the U.S. Representative for Kentucky’s 2nd congressional district since 2009. He previously served as a field artillery officer in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

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Essays on HONOR __________________

The nation’s highest military award is The Medal of Honor. This award goes to U.S. troops who have shown exceptional courage. They think honor needs to be a matter of daily living.

Soldiers are encouraged to develop the habit of being honorable and solidify that habit with every value choice they make. Honor is a matter of carrying out, acting, and living the values of respect, duty, loyalty, service, integrity, and personal courage in everything you do. Undoubtedly, future visitors to the Education Center will think about that when they come.

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RETURN WITH HONOR

By Captain Theodore W. Triebel, USN (Ret.)

On August 27, 1972, the surface-to-air missile I didn’t see exploded some 100 feet behind my F4 Phantom. On fire, heading down, and with no control, I ejected over North Vietnam and had a fleeting thought: “This war is about to last a hell-of-a-lot longer than I imagined.”

I graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1964 and earned my pilot wings in January 1966. Flying F-4 Phantoms, I joined Fighter Squadron VF-213 on board the USS Kitty Hawk in July 1966. After two seven-month combat deployments to Southeast Asia, I flew as an exchange pilot with the Air Force in New Mexico and in Germany in support of NATO contingency plans. I returned to carrier aviation in 1970, joining Fighter Squadron 151 on board USS Midway for two more combat deployments in Vietnam.

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bat deployment and 327th mission when I got shot down.

From 1966 to 1972, I had witnessed the war take on different hues. Political objectives changed, military thinking and tactics changed, and the country changed. On the home front, Americans questioned and became divided.

From my vantage point, what did not change was the resolve and courage of our combat flight crews who faced deadly ground defenses while penetrating hostile airspace en route to targets.

I recall my carrier air group commander briefing an Alpha Strike of some 43 aircraft headed to KEP Airfield, north of Hanoi. He described the multiple SAM and AAA sites along our ingress route and the defenses surrounding our target. While no doubt they would be very active, he stated: “Gentlemen, we’ll jink (turn hard left and right) on the way in, but once you’ve rolled in on your target, you’re on government time — no jinking, just straight and true to the release point.” One A6B aircraft was shot down that day, but to a man, orders were followed and bombs were released on the runway and riveted aircraft.

After my successful ejection, I was quickly captured and spent the next seven months in various Hanoi cells, where lasting friendships

were forged under harsh conditions. Returning home with fellow POWs, our motto, “Return with Honor,” was fulfilled. I was recognized with medals for “extraordinary courage and resourcefulness in resisting enemy demands in an atmosphere of harassment, torture, and brutal treatment.”

Aerial warriors were a living part of the history of the Vietnam War. Their contributions need to be recorded as examples of the essence of duty, bravery, and service to country. The Education Center at the Wall will provide the venue for that learning to take place, learning that is critical for future generations to better understand that the names on The Wall are real people on whose shoulders we stand.

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Theodore W. Triebel is a retired Captain with the U.S. Navy. He was awarded two Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars with Combat “V”, the Purple Heart, two Meritorious Service Medals, two Individual Air Medals, nineteen Strike/Flight Air Medals, seven Navy Commendation Medals with Combat “V”, the POW Medal, and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross.

Triebel served two tours in the Pentagon in national security and taught undergraduate and graduate classes in national and international security policy at Duke University.

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Like so many men of my generation, I received a 1-A selective service classification in 1967 at the height of the build-up in troop strength in Vietnam. Wanting to have some input on my role in the Army, I volunteered to enter the college option program upon graduation. The recruiter said, “With an MBA, even if you go to Vietnam, you’ll be issuing payroll vouchers in Saigon.” That sounded good to me, so I enlisted in the United States Army and was sent to the Benning School for Boys for Infantry Officer Candidate School.

Like so many men of my generation, one year later I was in Vietnam — not issuing payroll vouchers, but pounding the boonies with my ARVN and Montagnard allies in the jungles of the central highlands. For one year, I represented my country and did my best to fulfill the

mission set out for us: to keep South Vietnam free and to deny the imposition of communism south of the 17th parallel. I felt as many others did: When I came home, I thought we were winning.

Coming home was not what I expected. I did not need a parade, but I hoped there would at least be welcoming signs, recognition at sporting events, special treatment at universities, and maybe some accolades thrown our way by celebrities. I don’t remember it ever happening that way. So I retreated into my own world — not denying my veteran status, but not discussing it openly either. When asked about the war, I responded tentatively because my knowledge was confined to what I had seen and experienced. I was not the expert that people perceived me to be just because I was there.

After a lengthy career in the oil and gas industry, I chose to study the war in which I had fought by enrolling in the Ph.D. program at the University of Houston. Throughout my studies, I was amazed at how few authors dealt with the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who had fought the war, choosing instead to analyze the decision making in Washington, D.C., Hanoi, and Saigon. Therefore, I decided to study the war from the perspective of the participants —

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FROM SOLDIER TO SCHOLAR

By Ron Milam, Ph.D.

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those who fought and died on all sides.

When I first heard about the Education Center at The Wall from a park ranger nine years ago, I thought it was a great idea. However, I predicted that it would never happen — or if it did, it would be after the Vietnam generation had all perished, and therefore, would be less controversial. When asked to serve on the Content Advisory Committee, I was thrilled. To sit beside some of the most respected scholars of the war (whose books I have assigned to my classes), and to discuss and debate the complexities of our war, is the most gratifying experience of my academic career. Knowing that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will read the words that we write, view the artifacts we select, and experience the suffering of our generation is the most rewarding feeling I have ever experienced.

On this board, I have the opportunity to represent the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines so future generations can learn about all sides of the war. I see it as my responsibility to honor all of those who served.

I thank VVMF and its president and founder of The Wall, Jan Scruggs, for allowing me to use my experience and scholarship to bring our war into the hearts and minds of future gener-

ations. I am humbled and honored to be part of this amazing project.

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Ron Milam, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, History, and Fulbright Scholar to Vietnam as well as faculty advisor to the Veteran’s Association at Texas Tech University.

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There was never any doubt growing up that I would enter the U.S. Marine Corps. My uncle and father were World War II Marines and fought in the Pacific at the same time. While I thought that everyone should serve their country at some point, I never thought that I would spend 40 years in uniform. I am very proud of the fact that my family has had a Jones Marine infantry officer on active duty every day since 1938. I might add that none of us ever attended a service academy.

At the age of 23, I found myself serving as a rifle platoon and company commander in combat during 1967-1968. My baptism under fire was the Tet Offensive. The experience changed me in many ways. I was recently married, had a newborn son who would be six months old when I returned home, and was serving with the finest men I have ever known in combat. No

drugs, no race problems, no ethnic problems, a shortage of officers and staff NCOs — but we got the job done.

I mistakenly believed that we were really in this fight to win it, but after 13 months in the North, I grew frustrated by the ROE that provided sanctuary for the enemy across several borders. I felt that the South Vietnamese Army and the people in South Vietnam were too comfortable with the idea that we would fight and die for them forever. I left convinced that without us, the South would fold in a fight against the North, and it did come to that in the end. When the war ended, I was very sad for those who paid the ultimate price and very disappointed in our political leaders who didn’t have the guts to do what was necessary.

Throughout my career, I always tried to get a sense of the will of the people with regard to any future intervention on our part, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq. If the people are with you, and will fight for their freedom, we can win. If not, it is impossible. Col. Harry Summers’ interview of General Giap resonates in my mind today. He said to the General “You know you never defeated us in any single battle,” to which General Giap responded, “That’s true.

But it is also immaterial.”

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MY WAR STORY

By General James Jones, USMC (Ret.)

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The Education Center will teach about values like loyalty, integrity, duty, honor, and courage, which are integral to military culture. Of course, these qualities aren’t lacking in today’s armed forces. The ability to develop strategic thinkers is the biggest shortfall I see in the ranks today. We have brilliant tacticians — the best in the world — but we lack strategic thinkers. Even more rare are those who can do both.

General James Jones, USMC (Ret.) president of Jones Group International, a company he formed to address the most challenging geo-strategic issues of our time. He was appointed the 22nd National Security Advisor to the President of the United States in 2009. From July 1999 to January 2003, Jones was the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps. After relinquishing command as Commandant, he assumed the positions of Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Commander of the United States European Command, roles he held until December 2006.

Jones retired from active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2007, after more than 40 years of uniformed service to the nation. Later that year, General Jones was appointed as the State Department’s Special Envoy for Middle East Regional Security.

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KEEPING THE MIA ISSUE ALIVE

By Pam Cain

As an MIA daughter, I take time to focus on what my father and others like him gave to their country, what our country still needs to do for them, and what else I can do to get answers for my family as well as the more than 1,650 still missing from the Vietnam War. There are thousands more from World War II, Korea, and the Cold War who remain on foreign soil, and my heart goes out to their families.

We must honor and thank the heroes who were taken prisoner, those who survived years of torture and returned home to ecstatic families but to a nation that did not greet them with the welcome they deserved. The Vietnam War was not only unpopular, but also it divided our nation.

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and try to do whatever I can to keep the issue in front of our government. Many friends (and even some relatives) can’t understand why it is so important to get Dad home, achieve accountability, and resolve his and others’ cases. I’ll try to explain.

My dad was shot down over Laos in 1966.

We were living in the Washington, D.C. area, and I was almost 13 years old. We received little information, and for years we lived in isolation, not knowing dad’s fate but trusting that our government was doing everything it could to find him and bring him home. Answers were rare. We lived our lives on a roller coaster of not knowing and had little communication with other families who were experiencing the same loss, anguish, and frustration.

At some point, I realized that it was time for me to be more proactive. What was being done?

Who was doing it? Why wasn’t news more forthcoming? I learned how politicized the issue had become, how much money it took to find our loved ones, and how much work still needed to be done. Though my dad has been missing for 46-plus years, my family was lucky enough to receive news confirming his death about two years ago; it may still take up to three more years to confirm he’s buried where he’s believed

to be, excavate, and bring him home. It is so hard to accept, and yet I now know that other families have endured that wait time and more.

A devoted and heroic mother and a deep faith sustained me over the years. My resolve is due, in part, to the many in government, veterans groups, and MIA/POW organizations, along with other MIA family members I’ve come to know and consider my “family.” For those who fight for their country, we owe them gratitude and honor for protecting our freedoms.

My dad was a career Air Force officer who loved his country, loved flying, and loved his family. I wish that those in my life could have met him. And I am so proud of him, what he accomplished, and what he stood for. On this day, as every day, I pray for answers, for his return, and the peace of knowing I’ve done everything I could to get him home.

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Pam Cain is the daughter of Colonel Oscar Mauterer, MIA Laos, 2/15/66.

She is also a board member of the National League of POW/MIA Families.

Pictured at left is Colonel Oscar Mauterer. Oscar Mauterer is remembered on Panel 5E, Row 38 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

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Essays on INTEGRITY

HIGH DRAMA IN THE WHITE HOUSE

By Jan Scruggs

__________________

We should all do what’s right, legally and morally. Integrity is a quality you develop by adhering to moral principles. It requires that you do and say nothing that deceives others. As your integrity grows, so does the trust others place in you. Here are essays by individuals who discovered that the more choices you make based on integrity, the more this highly prized value will affect your relationships with family and friends, and, finally, the fundamental acceptance of yourself.

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The entire process to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial took just three years, culminating in the November 1982 dedication. The fundraising, legislative approval, the largest design competition held in history, and construction were all accomplished on schedule. This will forever remain an unbeaten Washington record; a decade or more is a typical timeframe for any national memorial in Washington because the maze of federal agencies, Congress, cabinet secretaries, and other stakeholders keeps momentum at a snail’s pace. The story of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is unique because of the passion and talent at work behind the scenes.

Sometimes people say to me, “You must be a genius.” I am far from that level on the IQ scale, but the Herculean effort to build The Wall brought together people who certainly fit that 113

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description and are also extremely talented and accomplished. One, Robert M. Kimmitt, played a particularly important role and continues to support VVMF’s mission today. I owe him a deep debt of gratitude. Bob was wounded in Vietnam as an Army paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He lost 17 of his West Point classmates during the war.

I started the endeavor knowing nothing about fundraising or dealing with Congress.

Some graduates of West Point became involved in 1979. Several attended Harvard Business School after graduation from the Academy. Bob Kimmitt — accompanied by John P. Wheeler III, Arthur Mosley, and Richard Radez, and others — worked behind the scenes to develop a business and political strategy. Few people have heard of these men, but their contribution was just as great as my own.

The first goal was to obtain authorization

by Congress to build the Memorial — not just anywhere, but on the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial. The idea started a mini-war in Washington in 1979. Many believed we had to be stopped to protect the Mall from other groups desiring the same thing, like veterans of World War II and Korea, for example.

Major Bob Kimmitt had a fast-track Army

career when we met in 1979. He was then legal counsel for the National Security Council, the White House group that keeps tabs on America’s vital national interests. He was respected for his analytical approach to problem solving.

It was clear to me that he would be a General, which he later accomplished. He was also an athletic, six-foot-four rugby player whose frame and demeanor naturally drew attention.

As Senate hearings approached in 1980, the opposition expected to make quick work of our plans to place The Wall near the Lincoln Memorial. They nearly succeeded. Barring divine intervention, I expected to be skewered at the Senate hearings.

Miraculously, on the day of the hearings, the Senate opposition was in full retreat. What happened? Overnight we ended up with 88 Senate cosponsors. Did God intervene? There was a rumor that the Secretary of the Senate did some persuading the day before the hearings. The Senate Secretary was Joseph Stanley Kimmitt, Bob Kimmitt’s father, a decorated Army officer from World War II and Korea.

Eventually, the bill to grant us hallowed ground on the Mall bore all 100 Senators as cosponsors — a Senate first. I recall saluting Colonel Stan Kimmitt in 2004. He was being es-

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corted down the aisle at Fort Myer Chapel in his coffin wearing his Army Dress Blues. “Thanks for the site, Colonel,” I whispered.

In July 1980, I was in the Rose Garden of the White House, as were Stan and Bob Kimmitt, when President Carter signed the legislation into law. Bob Kimmitt looked at me and said, “The next two goals need to be done with careful deliberation. Selection of a design and fundraising will be challenging if we expect to have this completed in 1982.” Right.

What happened in late 1981 was like a script from a very bad movie. The Maya Lin design was described as being too stark. It was labeled a “Black Gash of Shame.” There were rumors that a person with ties to the American Communist Party had been engaged in the design selection. Suddenly, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial design issue became not just political and artistic, but a matter that was literally related to national security. The issue drifted to the National Security Council. Some very wealthy, powerful people were determined to stop the design from being built. Some had direct and informal access to President Reagan.

One thing they did not have was Major Robert M. Kimmitt. In 1981, Bob Kimmitt was still one of my volunteer advisors. He was at the

National Security Council, advising President Reagan and the nation’s security establishment in the White House. A model of the design and a nervous Maya Lin were summoned to the White House. The National Security Council became engaged. Bob Kimmitt diffused the crisis at the White House, giving us time to negotiate a compromise with the opposition. We agreed to add a statue to the unconventional design.

In March 1982, we broke ground. Bob Kimmitt was there. In November 1982, we dedicated the memorial. Always in the shadows, of course, but again, Bob Kimmitt was there.

Nine years later, I opened up a newspaper and saw that Bob was our new ambassador to Germany. “What? Isn’t he kind of young for that?” I thought. As the Cold War came to a close, he was an excellent ambassador in a key period. He is now engaged in world commerce, which he views as a good way to avoid military conflict.

And now, VVMF is in the midst of another campaign — this time, requiring another $95 million to complete the mission. We are striving to build the Education Center at The Wall, a place that will give context to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and will inform future generations of the honor and sacrifice made by those

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who served their country. It will take another three years or more to finish the fundraising.

I asked Bob Kimmitt to consider making a personal financial contribution. He agreed, and made a substantial donation in October to help build the Center, on top of another substantial contribution he made last year. Other significant donors from USMA include General Barry McCaffrey, Major General Neal Creighton, John Cogbill, Major General Michael Nardotti, and William F. Murdy. A lot of people, even General Colin Powell, are donating their own money to assist us. And not just well known and important people, but also Americans across the nation are engaged in our effort.

“Leading by example” is an easy concept to understand. Bob Kimmitt has always done this and more. This is the time to tell his story.

And to Stan Kimmitt: Rest in peace, Soldier.

earning three Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He retired in November 2004 as a Major General in the Army Reserve. From 1991 until 1993, Kimmitt served as Ambassador of the U.S. to Germany. From 2005 until leaving office in 2009, he served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury under President George W. Bush.

Jan Scruggs is founder and president of the Vietnam Memorial Fund.

Pictured at left is Robert M. Kimmitt.

After being commissioned as a regular Army officer in 1969 at West Point, Robert M. Kimmitt completed field artillery, airborne, and ranger schools. He then served a 17-month combat tour in Vietnam (1970–1971), 118

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A VOW TO OUR VETERANS

By John V. Cogbill, III

A few years ago, one of my sons, who is currently serving in the United States Army, gave me a replica of a dog tag that had the Army Values on one side and the Warrior Ethos on the other. I hold it in the palm of my hand and study it daily. It inspires me. It reminds me of my sons and all that they do as soldiers in the service of this great country. It also brings back many vivid memories of my Army service in the early 1970s, which now seems so long ago.

Each time I look at that small piece of metal, what jumps out at me are the words “selfless service” on one side, and “I will never leave a fallen comrade” on the other.

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everything, including their lives, to keep this country safe. Each service member lives the values that are described in the Army Values and the Warrior Ethos. The words may be a little different in other services, but the intent and the resolve are the same.

However, most American citizens do not even know these honorable words. How could they, when less than one percent of them have any connection to the military these days?

We, as a country, must rededicate ourselves to these values and the Warrior Ethos. We must each vow never to leave a fallen comrade behind. That fallen comrade is every soldier, sailor, airman, marine, or coast guardsman who honorably serves our country. We can never forget the men and women who stand between us and those who would do us harm.

Tragically, our country has sometimes forgotten and even abandoned our service members, particularly during the Vietnam War. Our service men and women in the Vietnam War were “left behind.” Many of our citizens did not recognize or even understand the personal sacrifice of the men and women who proudly wore the uniform and followed the lawful orders of their military and civilian leadership. These warriors served their country 121

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and returned quietly to America, without parades or fanfare, and were told to not wear their uniform when they traveled in the U.S. They were met not with applause and cheers, but rather, with name-calling and jeers.

The Wall memorial in Washington, D.C. has helped change all that. America realized the selfless service of her Vietnam warriors, what they did, and why they did it. These men and women served with honor and courage and did what their country asked of them.

Since that time, no American service member has ever been treated so poorly. The Vietnam experience taught us to be grateful for the men and women who choose to protect and defend this country.

Thanks to the new Education Center at The Wall, we will tell the great stories of selfless service from all our wars, including those recent wars in which my sons fought and are still fighting today. It is our telling of these stories that keeps the fire burning and the light of freedom shining. How wonderful it will be to tell and show our heroes’ stories, who somewhere, every day, are risking everything so that we might live and prosper in the United States of America.

John V. Cogbill, III served in active duty as a major in the United States Army from 1970-1976 and reserve duty from 1976-1983. He is active in VVMF’s Leadership Group and serves as chairman of the Virginia War Memorial Educational Foundation. He is currently a partner with the law firm McGuireWoods.

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nection to the era, to veterans, the generations before them, and the wisdom that comes with a greater understanding of these things.

— Michael Raynor, Poling Class 2011

YOUTH AND THE LESSONS OF VIETNAM By the students of Lindy Poling

Lindy Poling serves on VVMF’s Education Center at The Wall Content Advisory Committee. A recently retired teacher, she developed a “Lessons of Vietnam Class” at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, which she taught for 14 years. The class included a Washington, D.C. field trip to The Wall. The following are excerpts of students’ reactions to the class and their thoughts about The Wall and plans for the new Education Center.

This experience taught me the importance of understanding the past, but most importantly, it taught me to care. That is why the Education Center is necessary — to teach people that this war mattered, is important even today, and that the veterans deserve our utmost respect.

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Young people should learn about the Vietnam War because it teaches critical thinking skills.

It teaches students that the world has many grey areas. Young people must learn to research and think through all the various information and come to their own opinions. This is a hard skill to learn, and there are few opportunities to teach it. There seems to be a lack of compassion among youth. The more you are exposed to, the more you grow in understanding of others. This experience truly shaped who I am.

— Sarah Tudor Thompson, Poling Class 1999 If we want a successful future, we must allow our future leaders to benefit from the past.

The Education Center at The Wall will help students experience the Vietnam era outside the textbook and reflect on how we can create a better America for future generations. The Vietnam era is particularly difficult to talk about, and that’s why we need the Education 125

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Center to help remember those who have fallen and the many great lessons to be learned from our triumphs as well as our failures.

— Eric Carstens, Poling Class 2007, and Class of 2014, George Washington University School of Law Vietnam was the first war in American history that made the public examine the morality of war. When you see The Wall and all of the names, you are impacted by the immense loss of life that it represents. There needs to be an Education Center right next to the Vietnam Memorial because every American who feels that gut-wrenching effect of the Wall will question: Was it worth it? Is war worth this?

and most importantly, how to think for themselves.

— DJ Rogers, Poling Class 2007 I visited The Wall with a second grader who asked me what it was all about — and for a few minutes, I was at a loss at what to say. The Memorial is a beautiful tribute to the lives lost, but it doesn’t explain the war. The Vietnam era transcends the names on The Wall and is almost impossible to explain on any level without the context that the Education Center will provide.

— Molly Emmett, Poling Class 2008

When it comes to Vietnam, students are often given biased or incomplete truth based on what a particular school system says is the most important thing for us to know. It is more important to be truly educated than to satisfy someone’s bullet points. Learning about Vietnam, its lessons and precedents, and how they relate to modern military politics is one of the best ways to teach young people about war,

As I approached The Wall, I was consumed by the majesty of 58,282 names, flowers, and flags carefully left by those whose hearts are connected to one of those small lines of text. For a moment, time stopped and the past met the present, as I touched the name that touched my reflection. It was as if each name whispered, “This sacrifice was for you.” I began to realize the power of connecting history to the present. It was one of the moments in my life that inspired me to become a history teacher.

I have the privilege now to open my students

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— Ashley Honeycutt, Poling Class 2008

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to the power that I experienced that day at The Wall. It is my hope that they, too, feel a connection beyond words and beyond the limitations of time.

— Wes Brown, Poling Class 2006, History and Social Studies Instructor, Ravenscroft School

NEVER LEAVE A VETERAN BEHIND

By Terry Araman

On the 11th anniversary of 9/11, I spent the morning at an American Legion post in Flagstaff, Arizona at a Veterans’ Forum. The Veterans’ Forum focused on homeless veterans living in the forests in the area around Flagstaff, with the intent of finding ways to ensure that the veterans survive the harsh winter conditions in this mountainous area of 7,000-foot elevation.

The first job is to take care of the immediate needs of veterans who struggle daily to live without any kind of formal shelter. Beyond that, however, is the need for a long-term effort to provide services and support to end homelessness among the veterans living in the wilds or in sub-standard, unhealthy conditions.

In November 2009, Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, declared that as a nation we will be committed to ending veteran homeless128

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ness within five years. As a result of that declaration, there has been a substantial increase in funding and support for permanent supportive housing, homelessness prevention programs, and other programs targeting homeless veterans. While there has been substantial progress in reducing the numbers of homeless veterans reported by the VA, we are still a long way from achieving the goal of no homeless veterans living in the United States of America.

Some of the areas which require intensive planning and focus are women veterans (who each year make up a larger percentage of the homeless veteran population); Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (especially in the 20- to 29-yearold age range); and veterans living in the rural, less-populated regions of the country, where there is less access to VA, state agency, and other services. An example of this last category is the homeless veteran population in and around the city of Flagstaff. It has been very heartening and encouraging to engage and collaborate with such dedicated and committed community members, from governmental agencies, nonprofit, and veteran service organizations. Many of the participants in the forum passionately pledge to do whatever is necessary to help prevent and end homelessness among the veterans

in their community.

In spite of these efforts, we know that the returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are facing enormous hurdles, both personally and socially, in reintegrating back into civilian life once their deployment overseas and tour of duty is complete. The incidence of physical and mental health issues is extremely high among these returning veterans. The high unemployment rate in the nation means that there are fewer avenues for creating a solid foundation for a veteran to reintegrate. Along with unemployment, social stigmas, and frayed and strained family and social support networks, undiagnosed and untreated mental health issues such as depression and suicidal tendencies create additional strains on the already overloaded health and services support networks offered by the VA and other governmental social service organizations.

The long-term social consequences of the issues related to veterans from the two wars have not yet been fully comprehended, but the impact of these issues will be felt for many years and decades to come. We would do well to study this returning population of veterans, and attempt to retool our veteran service and support options to correspond to the needs of

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current veterans. Very much like the old adage that “in our preparation for war we fight the last war,” our model of service and support for the current group of returning veterans is still tied to the processes and services we put in place to address the needs of the veterans from Vietnam and other conflicts.

Let’s rally the best of resources available to ensure that we are ahead of the curve in identifying new ways of treating and caring for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, before we are confronted with an overwhelming surge of at-risk veterans, while focusing on joblessness, mental health support, and homelessness prevention. The cost of providing the right level of support and services will be high — but not nearly as high as the cost to the nation if we fail to meet these challenges now rather than later.

Terry Araman is director of the Madison Street Veterans Association.

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EVERY VETERAN HAS A STORY TO TELL

By Colonel David Napoliello, USA (Ret.)

The elder statesmen of the veteran population – the 1.4 million World War II veterans – are reuniting with their fallen comrades at a rate of 680 a day. In less than six years, they will have all passed away. Vietnam veterans are alive in greater numbers, but they too are succumbing at an increasing rate – 417 a day. For too many, the sands of time have passed through the hourglass, and their stories will never be known, depriving future generations of the window into their service and valor and sacrifice.

Fewer and fewer Americans know what military service is like. That phenomenon is depriving the nation of an aware citizenry. About 12 percent of the population served in World War II, and today, only 0.7 percent have served or are serving in America’s current conflicts.

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How then will they learn and understand what it means to don the nation’s uniform and serve under the Stars and Stripes? Only through history books and the stories and experiences of those who served.

Where will those stories come from? Who will gather them? Will they be recorded in time?

Every veteran has a story to tell and that story is part of American history. Let us all be committed to encouraging other veterans to tell their stories and to help them when they are ready to do so.

Colonel David Napoliello is senior vice president for organizational advancement at VVMF.

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THE LEGACY OF AGENT ORANGE

By Paul Cox

I did not look out the window of the Freedom Bird as it lifted off from the Da Nang airport in 1970. I had been there 18 months, mostly as a grunt in the Corps. I never wanted to see the place again. Didn’t want to think about it. Had come to despise the war. Was lucky to be leaving in one piece, and wanted to get on with life.

Turns out it wasn’t that easy. The war ground on, and back in the States it was omnipresent — in the news, the music, and my nightmares. Even though I knew too much in my gut about war, I soon learned just how little really I knew about the War.

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our involvement. So after returning home, I read, and then read some more. The Pentagon Papers was a revelation, Bernard Fall’s books were insightful and intense, and GI Guinea Pigs was infuriating. I learned from that last one that many people, many of them scientists, had believed even during the war that Agent Orange and other herbicides sprayed over large areas of the war zones weren’t, as we had been told, harmless to humans.

Within a few years of my getting out of the Corps, some of my Vietnam veteran friends began getting sick in strange and scary ways.

Prostate cancer at the age of 29, heart attack at 34, brain tumor at 35, disabled children, and so on. Some died. Others live, but with crushed health. However, it was only after the success of Paul Reutershan’s 1978-1984 suit (which he did not live to see) against the chemical companies that I really began to understand what had been inflicted upon those of us who served in Vietnam.

That lousy settlement — spent and gone within ten years — did nothing for those veterans who got sick later. But it did set the stage for passage of Public Law 102-4 in 1991, which mandates that the VA provide care and compensation to veterans with illnesses related to

exposures to herbicides and dioxin. The law also required that the National Academy of Sciences conduct studies of available scientific literature and recommend which diseases in veterans are reasonably associated with AO exposure. The list of recognized disease has gradually grown from two in 1994 to 15 currently — and continues to grow.

Over the years, several of my friends returned to Vietnam, either as tourists or in efforts to reconcile with our former enemies.

Many told me that going back was a healing experience, but I did not want to revisit those ghosts and did not consider it.

In 2004, a group of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange sued the chemical companies for the damage herbicides spraying inflicted on three million of their citizens, and due to remaining contamination, continues to sicken even 40 years after the spraying stopped. The photos of deformed children that Phillip Jones Griffith put in his 2003 book, Agent Orange: Collateral Damage in Vietnam, ripped at my heart. When I was asked if I would help with the suit, I could not refuse. Not only are my fellow Vietnam veterans suffering from their exposure, but also the Vietnamese; not only are the children of veterans born with physical deformi-

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ties and developmental problems, but also the Vietnamese born many years after the end of the war.

Finally overcoming my hesitancy, I have made three trips to Vietnam since 2008, each time to investigate the extent of damage AO has inflicted on the Vietnamese. I have visited dozens of communities, large and small, spread over much of the country from north of Hanoi to Vung Tau, and have met with many victims of Agent Orange afflicted with a host of health problems. I have been to the A Luoi (A Shau) Valley and the Da Nang hotspots to see the effects these poisoned lands still have on the surrounding community. It ain’t pretty, nor were these trips fun and games. But they were purposeful and therefore healing for me. The ghosts are still there, but they don’t chase me around in my nightmares the way they used to.

During my first trip back to Vietnam, we drove two hours east from Hanoi. We turned off the main road and drove down narrow lanes and rice paddy paths as far as we could; then we walked about a click to a concrete house sited between a paddy and a pond to visit a young woman, Duan Thi Dan, disabled from her father’s exposure. Our hosts were surprised that the gate was locked. A neighbor came by and

told us that farmer Duan Ton Tat was out in his fields, and went to fetch him.

While Tat unlocked the gate, he informed us that his daughter Dan had died the week before. She had been born with physical deformities and mental retardation. Among her birth defects, her skin constantly peeled and cracked.

After 27 years of pain and confusion, she had died of a skin infection. As an 18-year-old in 1968 who had never been out of his village, Tat was sent to the South where he survived seven years of war — a patriot doing what was required of him by his government. He returned home to the North in 1975 to 20 hard post-war years, but he got married and they had Dan in 1981. Her difficulties scared them away from having additional children, and her requirements for constant care meant that they remained poor. Now he is sick from his exposure and his only child is dead. What a tragedy. What a high price to pay for patriotism — on either side of the Pacific.

This is an emergency. Agent Orange continues to destroy. So, what do we do? Do we sit around until we get older and die? Do we educate ourselves so we can complain more eloquently? Do we take action? Is this a problem that will yield to action? Do we take action

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individually or band together?

I vote we take action. You? Paul Cox served as a Marine in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 and is a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He is on the national board of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign.

Essays on COURAGE __________________

Face fear, danger, or adversity…Personal courage has long been associated with our Army.

With physical courage, it is a matter of enduring physical duress and risking personal safety.

Facing moral fear or adversity, on the other hand, may be a long, slow process of continuing forward on the right path — especially if taking those actions is not popular with others. You can build your personal courage by daily standing up for and acting upon the things that you know are honorable — just as these soldiers did and continue to do.

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I actually had to submit two 1049 request-fortransfer forms to go to Vietnam in the fall of 1967. The first one was tossed by my first sergeant, who had just returned from there. He told me, “Are you nuts? Why would you want to go there as a medic?”

I shared my family warrior history with him, and simply said I did not want to spend the rest of my life wondering how I would have done. It was something I felt I needed to do for myself, to know that I could do it. It never crossed my mind that there were risks; I knew I would survive. Twenty days later, I was on my way.

Later, my sons grew up hearing the stories of what it took to be a combat warrior in Vietnam. They are outdoorsmen, very physical, love a challenge, and incredible patriots. For both

of them, there was no other option in the Army besides infantry. Both excelled at it — airborne, infantry, and for my son Nainoa, Ranger.

Nainoa earned his Ranger badge at Fort Benning on March 14, 2004.

In January 2005, the Iraqi people were getting prepared for their first national election.

The city of Mosul was totally in flames. As a first lieutenant, Nainoa volunteered to take his platoon out on a second patrol to cover for another platoon leader who was new in country and not quite prepared for a patrol in one of the city’s hot spots.

The 2nd Platoon, C Company, 3/21 Infantry of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team had done their mission for the day when Nainoa learned that there was one mission still unfinished. So, as he always did, he was up front in the lead element approaching their objective.

They were ambushed, and he was shot by a professional sniper, resulting in an immediate gun battle with a well-organized group of insurgents. It was a “golden bullet,” which caught him in the crease of his upper left body armor, went through his heart and out the other side.

He did not have a chance. Those of us who have experienced the chaos of gun battle know the reality of something like that — an inch one way

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By Allan Hoe

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or the other, and the result would have been totally different.

Nainoa was born upon a full moon, so in Hawaiian, his middle name, “Hokuhelelani,” means “moon that travels the heavens.” The day he was killed was also a full moon; thus for him, it was a complete cycle of life.

Since my military career, I have had success as an attorney and a judge. For young people now leaving the military, I would say, realize that we all must take charge of our own destiny.

In Vietnam, there were days that I thought were absolutely horrific, that I had experienced or seen the worst life has to offer — until I would meet someone or hear of something that made my experience seem like a walk in the park. I realized that the best way to survive was simply to make lemonade out of the lemons life dealt me.

I look back on my experience as a young soldier and I am grateful, for it grounded me in terms of what I needed to do to succeed in facing all of life’s challenges. The Army taught me the value of striving for the best and working your butt off to succeed.

The Education Center will provide each visitor with a very special link to those heroes on The Wall, especially the individual whose dog tag they will be entrusted with as they experi-

ence the Vietnam War within the Center. The Wall has had such a huge impact on our society.

It is an amazing experience each time I visit to see the many people who want to have a personal experience and connect with the warrior heroes whose names are carved in granite — especially now, since about half of all Americans alive today were born after the Vietnam War. That fact is mind boggling to me.

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Born in Hawaii, Allan Hoe was a combat medic in Vietnam with the Americal Division. He was wounded and received the Bronze Star during his tour in 1968. He is an accomplished surfer and motocross driver, but now puts his energy into the Honolulu Polo Club, where he is president.

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I had just been hired by the U.S. government.

The government told me that my job might be anything, but I knew where I was headed. I was going to Vietnam. I was going to kill my nation’s enemies.

Nixon had just been elected president on the promise to end the war. I did not want to go to Vietnam. I particularly did not want to kill people, although at the time I really didn’t understand the full implications of taking someone’s life. During training, I spent every available moment in base libraries searching for news that Nixon had ended the war. I was not even sure what the cause was. I had seen film of President Eisenhower talking about the domino effect. Once Vietnam fell, all of Southeast Asia would become communist. If Southeast Asia became communist, India with its billions

of people would fall and so on. I was not convinced. Ultimately, I went to war.

Arriving at Chu Lai, I went to my Battalion LZ in a supply Huey. I checked in, rifle and pack in hand, to be assigned to 1st Platoon, Bravo Company. Two weeks before, Bravo Company had been hit hard. 1st Platoon had lost its Lieutenant and several squad leaders. I was here to replace one of the squad leaders.

I was called to a meeting the night the Platoon returned. I was given a rifle squad. When we walked off the Hill, I would have three other guys and me: Terry Moreland from Salem, Tom Baney from Ft. Wayne, and John Seabaugh from Cape Girardeau. I remember Terry picking a land leech off my neck at the base of the Hill. That was the beginning of a true hatred of land leeches. They were everywhere in the field, waving in the air, feeling our heat, coming for us, mounting us sometimes three on top of each other — 10, 20, 30 at a time on a bad day. I grew to hate them.

My first mission was not a good one for me.

The Battalion’s area of operation was a free-fire zone. Anyone in the area who did not wear OD green was the enemy. We were to either kill or extract them. Our area extended from Central Vietnam to Laos. About 10:00 one morning, we

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FOR SOME, THE WAR GOES ON

By Craig Johnson

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hit a small village. There were NVA there with their families – women, children, elderly. We were spotted, and an AK47 opened up. Game on.

I was so new. Three weeks earlier my wife, Bonnie, and I were in San Francisco attending the stage play “Hair.” Now I stood in the midst of hell. The most prominent structure in the village was a large bamboo building. Several NVA were firing from the structure. Big Mike, an M60 machine gunner, was standing John Wayne style in the middle of an abandoned rice paddy without cover firing from his hip, pouring death into the hutch. Seabaugh fired an M79 white three-phosphorous grenade into the hutch setting it ablaze. In 10 minutes, we had swept the village.

I could not stop crying. I was ashamed of being seen crying, but I was also frightened to find a private place for fear I might be found by the NVA and shot. Mortar rounds began coming into the village. We gathered those villagers remaining and left.

I made it through the critical first month.

Terry looked after me as he looked after everyone who came within his scope. Others came. I did come to some terms with what I was doing.

I loved these guys. I did my best to be kind in

the midst of the brutality.

I made it through to come home to Bonnie.

Terry was killed two days after I left the field.

Surrounded, he was killed charging a line of NVA. Terry took two in the chest, a tight shot group heart high. He was dead before his leg finished swinging. Through all that, he was the only one in the squad who died. I was not there by his side. Most of us were not there. He was left with strangers. I loved him so much.

That was many years ago. My wife and I are still together. We have raised two sons. We have built a good life. For the most part, that Vietnam stuff lay dormant while I provided a living for my family. It is good that it has. I struggled to relate to other people’s problems. I had this dead zone.

More recently, anger has come and dreams, difficult dreams. I guess I am entitled to that anger. I am involved with our young men returning from the wars in the Middle East. I am involved with the mothers and fathers of those who have not returned. I am very much a pacifist.

But not all of my combat Company is pacifist. Every year, there is a Company reunion.

Most of those guys remain hawks. Those that are more like me are the ones who went to the

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deep woods upon returning. We do not see them much. For some, the war goes on.

Army veteran Craig Johnson was a squad Leader, 1st of the 46th, 196 Infantry Brigade, Americal Division in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970.

A FATHER LOST Two sisters lost their father in Vietnam in 1968.

They were very young and never really knew him. Here Crystal Lawrence Hood and Deborah Lawrence share their stories about Sgt. Gregory P. Lawrence, 37th AARS.

Crystal Lawrence Hood’s words about her dad: On Oct. 5, 1968, the JG 10 was called out on a rescue mission. A SOG group was pinned in and needed help getting out. The JG10 was the second helicopter called upon for the rescue.

The four-man crew, with no regard for their own safety, approached the marked spot. As they did, they took on heavy fire and were hit with a mortar that went through the floor and then the top of the chopper hitting the papilla.

They had to fly off unable to complete their mission.

As the JG10 went over a mountain, it crashed. The copilot, Albert Wester, and the 150

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door gunner were both killed. The door gunner, Sgt. Gregory P. Lawrence, is my dad. I was three years old at the time. This is just one of the stories I have been told about that day — however, the ending is always the same.

My dad was listed KIA, later to be listed as KIA/BNR, which means “killed in action/ body not recovered.” To this day, he remains listed that way. Even 44 years later, I still can’t tell this story without a flood of tears rolling down my face. Somewhere along life’s road you get used to the idea of not having your dad around. You learn to accept the fact that he is gone. What I can’t get used to is not being able to remember how it felt to see his face, to hear him laugh, or to tell me he loves me. I can’t even remember if I told him goodbye or that I loved him, too.

I always wondered why my dad left me behind to fight for a country full of people he didn’t even know. Why couldn’t he have just stayed home? It was, after all, his choice to go.

He had asked three times to go before the Air Force said okay. My dad was 30 when he left.

He left two weeks before my brother was born. I was angry, hurt, and confused.

Vietnam was a taboo thing when I was growing up. It wasn’t until I had children of my

own that I learned just what it was all about.

When the survivors from that conflict could talk about it, only then did I know just why my dad and so many like him were fighting. I now know my dad didn’t just leave me behind to fight for a country full of people he didn’t know; he was also fighting for me, for his family, and for his country. He was fighting so that we could maintain the freedom that we take for granted every day.

While it seems that our government has not learned a lesson from that historic event called “The Vietnam Conflict,” our nation has. We no longer walk up to our military men and women and spit on them and call them names. Instead, we shake their hand and tell them “Thank you for your service to our country.” We come together to support our troops, whether we support the war or not. We reach out a helping hand to the families they had to leave behind.

I’d like to think that is my generation doing this. And to the vets of the Vietnam War, I would like to say “Thank You’ for sharing your stories with us. I know for most it is not easy to do. However, in sharing with us — the children left behind — your stories give a sense of peace.

They say what you don’t know can’t hurt you. I, for one, beg to differ.

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Deborah Lawrence’s words about her dad: Oct. 5, 1968, was the day my dad gave his life for our country, for his brothers-in-arms, for men he never knew. It was also the day that changed our family’s life. Sgt. Gregory Paul Lawrence was a man of honor, a man everyone stationed with him trusted, a member of the USAF. Growing up I only knew him as the man in the picture on the wall in our home. Now that I am an adult, and thanks to today’s technology, I have learned so much about that day in 1968 and about that man in the picture. I have had the honor of meeting a few of the brave men who were stationed with my dad, and through them, and have gotten to know him through them.

The History Channel had a program a few years ago called “Heroes Under Fire: Ambush in the Jungle.” It was about a special forces unit that was trapped in Laos and had called for help. It was about the day we lost our dad. The Jolly Green Giants answered that call as they always did. The enemy had the SF unit pinned down, and the only way for those men to get out of the jungle was to fight and stay alive until the helicopters arrived.

When the birds arrived, the enemy was

waiting and drew them into an ambush. The first helicopter was so shot up that it had to turn around and head back to base. Then the second bird, JG10, went in to attempt the rescue.

The men on the JG10 fought for their lives and for the lives of the men on the ground. The helicopter was shot down, but the pilot and copilot managed to fly the helicopter away from the battle on the ground and crashed over the mountains.

At that moment, the mission changed for the Jolly Green Giants; they had to rescue their men along with the SF unit. Thanks to their heroic efforts, those men survived and were able to come home. They are the men that we children of The Wall search for. They are the men that can tell us about our dads. We want to know what our dads were like, how they lived — not just how they died.

I know that the war is something that veterans don’t like to talk about, and I respect that. When I have met with the men that knew my dad, my questions are always about the man, not the mission. We have the facts of the mission, but what we don’t have is knowledge of the day-to-day life of our dad. What kind of person he was, what he did in his free time, what he talked about — these are the things that

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help us to feel closer to that man in the picture, to the name on The Wall. I don’t have any memory of my dad, but thanks to the men who have shared their memories, I know him.

Pictured at left is Gregory P. Lawrence.

Gregory P. Lawrence is remembered on Panel 41W, Row 13 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

REMEMBERING THE GRUNT PADRE By the VVMF Staff

The VVMF staff attended the memorial mass for Father Vincent Robert Capodanno at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The mass was in honor of the anniversary of Capodanno’s death in Vietnam on Sept. 4, 1967. Hundreds filled the Crypt Church at the Basilica to honor the Grunt Padre for his actions on that day.

Archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services Timothy Broglio presided over the mass, which was also attended by Walter Marm, a Medal of Honor recipient from the Vietnam War. A large number had traveled from Capodanno’s home state of New York and also Pennsylvania, where one of the many Knights of Columbus councils named for him is located. At the end of the mass, the sailor we’d been sitting next to played taps. In that solemn chapel, 156

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it was one of the saddest and most beautiful things we ever heard.

Capodanno joined the Navy Chaplain Corps in the mid-1960s, and in 1966 he reported to the 7th Marines in Vietnam. In addition to ministering, he established libraries, gathered and distributed gifts, and organized outreach programs for local villagers. He requested an extension to stay with the Marines, and on Sept. 4, 1967, Capodanno was seriously injured during an ambush of North Vietnamese fighters. He saw a wounded corpsman pinned down by an enemy machine gunner. Capodanno went to the Marine, tended to his wounds, and ministered to him. Capodanno was unarmed, but the enemy fired anyway. He died of 27 bullet wounds and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1969. He also received the Navy Bronze Star, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star, and the Purple Heart Medal.

This is his Medal of Honor citation: “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Chaplain of the 3d Battalion, in connection with operations against enemy forces. In response to reports that the 2nd Platoon of M Company was in danger of being overrun by a massed enemy assaulting force, Lt. Capodanno

left the relative safety of the company command post and ran through an open area raked with fire, directly to the beleaguered platoon.

Disregarding the intense enemy smallarms, automatic-weapons, and mortar fire, he moved about the battlefield administering last rites to the dying and giving medical aid to the wounded. When an exploding mortar round inflicted painful multiple wounds to his arms and legs and severed a portion of his right hand, he steadfastly refused all medical aid. Instead, he directed the corpsmen to help their wounded comrades, and with calm vigor, continued to move about the battlefield as he provided encouragement by voice and example to the valiant Marines.

Upon encountering a wounded corpsman in the direct line of fire of an enemy machine gunner positioned approximately 15 yards away, Lt. Capodanno rushed a daring attempt to aid and assist the mortally wounded corpsman. At that instant, only inches from his goal, he was struck down by a burst of machine gun fire. By his heroic conduct on the battlefield and his inspiring example, Lt. Capodanno upheld the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.

While many remain unaware, so many still

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suffer the effects of the longest war in our history. As we remember and pray for the eternal repose of Father Capodanno, we cannot forget those he served and how he served.”

These are the types of individuals who will be honored and remembered at the Education Center at The Wall. You cannot put a price tag on this kind of inspiration and selfless courage.

Pictured at left is Vincent Robert Capodanno.

Vincent Robert Capodanno is remembered on Panel 25E, Row 95 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

HELP BUILD THE EDUCATION CENTER Gifts for the Education Center at The Wall must be designated as such. These gifts will help VVMF create a permanent learning facility on the National Mall that will show the pictures and tell the stories of the more than 58,000 individuals lost during the Vietnam War. To support this important initiative with a gift of any size, visit www.buildthecenter.org.

MAKE A GIFT IN MEMORY Donating to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in memory of a family member or friend who has passed away is a meaningful way to honor them. You can make a significant in-memory contribution to the Memorial Fund in the following ways:

• Next of kin, family, and friends can request donations in memory at a funeral service.

• Create an online memorial or tribute page to 160

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share memories about their loved one.

• Make a regular or one-off memorial gift

to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund themselves.

• We will send a tax-deductible receipt to

every person who makes a donation in memory at the funeral service, and we will send the nominated next of kin a summary of everyone who has made a donation in memory.

• Find out more. Go to: www.vvmf.org/ ways-to-give

ONLINE DONATIONS Visit www.vvmf.org to make a secure, one-time donation with your credit card.

MONTHLY GIVING We invite supporters to join a special group of donors who support VVMF all year long with a monthly gift. As an Honor Guard member, you make a special commitment to honoring those who served in the Vietnam War, preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and educating generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. Visit www.vvmf.org/ MonthlyGiving for more information.

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SIGN UP FOR OUR MAILING LIST Signing up for our mailing list allows you to keep up with VVMF’s many activities throughout the year. Visit our website, www.vvmf.org to sign up online.

In addition to the web addresses listed here, supporters may call VVMF at (202) 3930090 with any questions or to support our programs through any of these giving options.

WALL SOCIETY The Vietnam Veterans Memorial has become a national symbol of recognition for the service and sacrifice of Vietnam veterans, a place of healing for veterans, and a place of remembrance for those we lost.

Members of The Wall Society have made a pledged to ensure that The Wall will continue to be hallowed ground — not only today but for future generations — by making a part of their legacy a donation to VVMF. Gifts of all sizes help to share the stories and legacies of Vietnam veterans with younger generations. We welcome your current and deferred gifts as follows:

• Beneficiary in your will • Beneficiary of a trust 163

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• Charitable Trust naming Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund as a beneficiary

• Designee of a life insurance policy • Gifts of highly appreciated securities • For information on joining VVMF’s Wall

Society, go to: www.vvmf.org/ways-to-give

OTHER GIFTS VVMF accepts vehicle donations, as well as gifts of real property, stocks, and bonds. Visit www. vvmf.org/VehicleDonations to learn about all of these options.

2600 Virginia Ave NW, Suite 104 Washington, DC 20037 202-393-0090 www.vvmf.org Twitter: @VVMF Facebook: Facebook.com/VietnamVeteransMemorialFund

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