Vietnam Veteran Memorial “Moving Wall” Reminder of Different Nation

All Vietnam veterans and their families honored at Moving Wall

Wareham Wicked Local
Mary McKenzie
August 20, 2017

“I left Vietnam, but truth be told, it hasn’t left me. A seemingly unrelated sight or sound will bring me right back and then you remember the unexpected explosions, the screams of pain ...” Brig. Gen. James Carpenter

WAREHAM - As Pastor Colon Wright of Emmanuel Assembly of God Church thanked the audience for “honoring our fallen brothers and sisters” by visiting the Vietnam Wall, he asked them to remember those who returned home as well.

That sentiment, honoring the dead but recognizing the sacrifices of those who returned from the war, was echoed several times at Saturday night’s ceremonies at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial “Moving Wall.”

“I still find it difficult to talk about my time in Vietnam,” said Henry Mello, who served in the United States Army during the war and is now secretary of the Taunton Vietnam Veterans Association. “It took me about 50 years to ask for help.”

Brig. Gen. James Carpenter, the former commander of the Hawaii Army National Guard, with his voice breaking, reminded the audience that the night was dedicated to all Vietnam Veterans - those that returned, those that returned with disabling physical or psychological damage, those that returned to a hostile community - everyone.

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