Dallas News
By MEREDITH SHAMBURGER
Staff Writer
Published: 08 November
“You’ve paved the road for us, and we are in your debt,” said Brig. Gen. Lester Simpson, who was deployed in Afghanistan.
Jim Tuttle/Staff Photographer A crowd gathered to listen to speakers at a ceremony Saturday honoring veterans at the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Fair Park.
Every year, members of the Vietnam Vets Motorcycle Club honor their fallen comrades from Texas — all 3,415 of them.
The group’s Run to the Wall ride Saturday led to the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Fair Park, where the names of those lost are inscribed.
“One year we had heard that they were going to build a memorial here, so we got all of the Vietnam vets in the state of Texas to ride to this location,” club member Fred Campos said. “That’s where the name Run to the Wall came from. That was 26 years ago, and we just kept doing it every year.”
The ride from Globe Life Park in Arlington brought veterans, their families and other supporters to pay tribute to all those who gave their lives for their nation.
Brig. Gen. Lester Simpson, who spoke at the gathering, praised the courage of the fallen and also emphasized the sacrifices made by veterans who returned home from a widely unpopular war.
“The healing process is not complete,” he said of former military personnel who continue to suffer from problems such as post-traumatic stress, homelessness and joblessness.
Simpson, an Army National Guard member who was deployed in Afghanistan, credited the Vietnam-era veterans for encouraging reforms to ensure former military personnel are treated with dignity and have good opportunities in their civilian lives.
“You’ve paved the road for us, and we are in your debt,” he said.
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