In watching the news they are talking about the weather and how people plan to spend their long Memorial Day weekend. Let me tell you how I plan to spend my Memorial Day Weekend.
On Thursday May 22 The Vietnam Veterans Moving Memorial commonly called The Moving Wall is coming to Center Ossipee for a stay. I will be taking two days vacation and arriving at Constitution Park around 8 a.m. to wait for the walls arrival. As soon as it arrives among its escort, we will swing into action and assemble the display. One of the most moving moments of the morning will be watching Mike Gaudett, whom I have had the honor of working beside since the inception of the weekend, will with his son carry the panel with his brothers name and put it in its proper place on the assembly. Other Veterans have asked permission to carry the panel with their buddies names on it. We plan on making this step in their healing process a very solemn event, and memorable for all those involved. Over the next five days I plan on walking the wall, talking to people, and learning their stories. My wife has volunteered to work in the name tent, along with my oldest daughter. My 16 year old is doing her part as a gopher to help the volunteers on duty at the wall. My 10 year old is going with her 4th grade class on a field trip to the wall to learn more about Vietnam, and veterans in general
Even though I did not serve in Vietnam, my time of service was not until some five years after the United States pulled out of Vietnam. Preparation for this event , and the event itself leads to the first time I have put on an article of my time in service and wearing the awards I earned during my time in Service with several tours with the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, and other cruises while in the Navy.
I take part in this weekend not because it will bring honor to me. I take part in this event to bring honor to all those who have ever put the uniform of this country on, and answered the solemn call of duty and honor, specifically those who served in Vietnam , and more specifically the 58,246 who gave their lives in a far away land, that few even knew existed before we were involved there. It was the first war we fought where there was no defined front, there was no push to gain new ground and move the enemy back. It was a war where it was a constant struggle just to stay where you were. The enemy was hard to tell, some were shaking your hand during the day, and sniping at you during the night. It was a challenge to an army used to conventional style fighting.
What do I expect to get out of the weekend? I expect to hear stories, see acts of contrition, and share pats on the back with brave men. My brother fought in Vietnam in the Seabees, and a brother in law was there as a brown water sailor with the riverine forces. This weekend is a way to connect with my brother in a way I have never done before, and honor the memory of my brother in law. It is a time to reconnect with my past, and dig into some memories I have. Friends who were blown up in Beirut, reconnect in my mind with friends whom I have lost ouch with over the years like the Tree Dave Walls, one of the most honorable men I have had the pleasure of knowing. It is a time for me to remember the service of my father as a motor machinist mate on landing craft in World War 2.
I expect to leave this weekend with a stronger connection to my past, and a stronger connection to my fellow vets.
Welcome Home Brothers and Sisters Welcome Home
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