Vietnam veterans, others pay respects at travelling replica

Jerry Sousa, of West Nottingham and a veteran from the 82nd Airborne, salutes the American flag during the playing of taps while standing in front of The Moving Wall, a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., during Newmarket's Memorial Day celebrations at Leo A. Landroche Memorial Field in Newmarket on Saturday, May 30, 2009. Sousa's biological brother, Lance Cpl. Robert Sousa, a marine, died during the war and has his name on the wall, "but they are all my brothers," he said, refering to the wall's names and the veterans in attendance.
Scott Yates/syates@seacoastonline.com

Moving tribute: Vietnam veterans, others pay respects at travelling replica
Vietnam veterans, others pay respects at travelling replica
By Gina Carbone
gcarbone@seacoastonline.com
May 31, 2009 6:00 AM
Roy Greenleaf lost 14 friends on May 19, 1968, in Vietnam. He found them again on May 30, 2009, at The Moving Wall in Newmarket.

Greenleaf, now the Newington fire chief, served two tours with the Marine Corps in Vietnam. On that May day, he was with Fox Company, 3rd platoon, 3rd squad, when they were attacked outside Khe Sanh.


The Moving Wall tribute to Vietnam veterans comes to Newmarket He caught shrapnel. His friends died.

Greenleaf had their names highlighted on a piece of paper in his shirt pocket Saturday morning at The Moving Wall, the half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., which has been in Newmarket since May 28 and will leave town June 1.

"They're not the victims, they're the survivors," Greenleaf said, pointing to the more than 58,000 names. "Their war is over. It's done. The rest of us are still the victims. We still walk with it."

Greenleaf came to the wall with the Ancient Order of Hibernians Pipes and Drums Band of Manchester. They joined in the Newmarket Memorial Day Parade Saturday morning wending through town to the wall, where hundreds of veterans, families and Seacoast residents paid respects to the fallen.

Rick Donnelly of Dracut, Mass., lost one-third of the Air Force commandos he flew into Vietnam with the day before the Tet Offensive. Seeing them again at the wall was an emotional experience. "Very much," he said, wiping his eyes.

The Red Knights Motorcycle Club of New Hampshire helped bring in the wall on Thursday night. Congregating around the flowers, photographs and other offerings were members of various military branches — including Navy veteran Ed Lyons of Kingston; Army veteran Jim Voss of Kingston; Coast Guard veteran Aaron Epstein of Fremont; and Army veteran Dick Rodier of Epping.
go here for more

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090531-NEWS-905310328