Vietnam Veterans Memorial 35 Years of Healing

‘The Wall’ is turning 35, and the man behind it wants to honor this generation’s fallen
Military Times
By: Jan C. Scruggs
March 24, 2017

On a cold and windy March day, veterans from each of the 50 states broke ground with shovels to show wide support.

On Sunday, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will host a ceremony to commemorate the 35th anniversary of its historic groundbreaking. The idea for a memorial engraved with names of the fallen flowed from my academic research and from testimony before the Senate on what is now called post-traumatic stress, a common reaction to witnessing violence.

Jan Scruggs, left, and project engineer Gary Wright look over plans for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on March 23, 1982. Groundbreaking took place March 26.
Photo Credit: Bill Auth/AP

The memorial was planned as a societal acknowledgement of those who served, funded by the American people. I started the effort in 1979 while a GS-7 at the Labor Department, thanks to the permission of my wife. This was nonstop work, day after day.

In 1982, the money was in hand, as was a permit to begin construction. The effort barely succeeded. I hope the lessons learned can ease the path to success for a Global War on Terrorism Memorial that will honor a new generation of service members.
read more here

Iowa Vietnam Veterans Take Honor Flight

First Honor Flight for Vietnam veterans announced
WQAD
By Ryan Jenkins
Jun 17, 2016

BETTENDORF, Iowa (WQAD) - Approximately one hundred veterans will experience the first ever Vietnam Veteran honor flight in September 2016.

The event, hosted by Honor Flight of the Quad Cities, will celebrate these veterans by providing an experience for them to enjoy a dinner before they take off and spend their day touring war memorials and monuments in Washington D.C.

While in Washington D.C., the veterans will take part in a special service near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

“They will join together, they will be able to talk to each other and share experiences, share laughter, maybe even a few tears…” said Steve Garrington, Hub Director of Honor Flights of the Quad Cities.

The flight will depart from the Quad City International Airport on September 15, 2016. The veterans will spend the day in Washington D.C. and return that same night.

Garrington said he hopes to see the community welcome the veterans home upon their return.

“They didn’t really get a welcome home the first time so this is our chance...” said Garrington.
read more here

Vietnam Veteran Finds Forgotten Photos of Never Forgotten

Dawn patrols and downtime in America's ugliest war 
Daily Mail
By KIERAN CORCORAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: August 2015

One veteran's forgotten photos of Vietnam unveiled after 47 years, showing troops unaware of protests at home - and the many who never made it back
Former artillery officer Christopher Gaynor, now 70, took the images in 1967 and 1968 while deployed

They stayed hidden away for more than 40 years before he reopened them and relived old memories

Shelter: Soldiers are pictured above in cramped conditions near a battery of Howitzer artillery units in Loc Ninh. Thomas Corbin, bottom left with a bandaged finger, was one of Gaynor's war buddies. He died in action a year after this photograph was taken in 1967

These candid images show life on the front lines of the Vietnam war through the eyes of a young soldier, who rediscovered the collection decades after the conflict ended.

In the images by former artillery officer Christopher Gaynor, helicopters swoop down in high-risk troop deployments, convoys rumble through the booby-trapped countryside and infantrymen make tense dawn patrols.

Gaynor, now 70, spent more than a year in Vietnam between 1967 and 1968, taking photographs as he went. As well as showing scenes of battle-ready soldiers and equipment, he also showed his war buddies in their down time.

Photographer: Gaynor is pictured in a more recent photograph, honoring his fellow soldiers at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
read more here

Presidential Proclamation -- Vietnam Veterans Day

Presidential Proclamation -- Vietnam Veterans Day
VIETNAM VETERANS DAY
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

On January 12, 1962, United States Army pilots lifted more than 1,000 South Vietnamese service members over jungle and underbrush to capture a National Liberation Front stronghold near Saigon. Operation Chopper marked America's first combat mission against the Viet Cong, and the beginning of one of our longest and most challenging wars. Through more than a decade of conflict that tested the fabric of our Nation, the service of our men and women in uniform stood true. Fifty years after that fateful mission, we honor the more than 3 million Americans who served, we pay tribute to those we have laid to rest, and we reaffirm our dedication to showing a generation of veterans the respect and support of a grateful Nation.

The Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds, colors, and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission. It is a story of Americans from every corner of our Nation who left the warmth of family to serve the country they loved. It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm's way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to preserve the liberties we hold dear. From Ia Drang to Hue, they won every major battle of the war and upheld the highest traditions of our Armed Forces.

Eleven years of combat left their imprint on a generation. Thousands returned home bearing shrapnel and scars; still more were burdened by the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, of Agent Orange, of memories that would never fade. More than 58,000 laid down their lives in service to our Nation. Now and forever, their names are etched into two faces of black granite, a lasting memorial to those who bore conflict's greatest cost.

Our veterans answered our country's call and served with honor, and on March 29, 1973, the last of our troops left Vietnam. Yet, in one of the war's most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected -- to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example. We must never let this happen again. Today, we reaffirm one of our most fundamental obligations: to show all who have worn the uniform of the United States the respect and dignity they deserve, and to honor their sacrifice by serving them as well as they served us. Half a century after those helicopters swept off the ground and into the annals of history, we pay tribute to the fallen, the missing, the wounded, the millions who served, and the millions more who awaited their return. Our Nation stands stronger for their service, and on Vietnam Veterans Day, we honor their proud legacy with our deepest gratitude.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 29, 2012, as Vietnam Veterans Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the Vietnam War.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.
BARACK OBAMA

VIETNAM WAR FACTS

THE FIRST KNOWN CASUALTY

Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having a casualty date of June 8, 1956.

His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who has a casualty date of Sept. 7, 1965.

WHAT ARE THE DATES ON THE WALL?

The first casualty names inscribed were Dale R. Buis and Chester R. Ovnard (this name was a misspelling, it should have read Ovnand) were military advisors, killed on July 8th, 1959 in Bienhoa, while watching a movie in the mess tent. The light had been turned on to change the movie reel and that is when snipers opened fire. The name of the movie was "The Tattered Dress", starring Jeanne Crain.

Although 1959 is marked as the beginning on Panel 1, East wall, a Captain (Army) Harry G. Cramer was killed 21 October 1957 during a training action. He is listed on line 78, panel 1, East wall, which was added approximately a year after the Memorial was dedicated.

1975 was the year that the last 18 casualties (Daniel A. Benedett, Lynn Blessing, Walter Boyd, Gregory S. Copenhaver, Andres Garcia, Bernard Gause, Jr., Gary L. Hall, Joseph N. Hargrove, James J. Jacques, Ashton N. Loney, Ronald J. Manning, Danny G. Marshall, James R. Maxwell, Richard W. Rivenburgh, Elwood E. Rumbaugh, Antonio Ramos Sandovall, Kelton R. Turner, Richard Vande Geer) occurred on May 15th during the recapture of the freighter MAYAGUEZ and its crew.

Groundbreaking ceremony for the Education Center at the Wall

Ground breaking at the Education Center
11/28/2012 02:28 PM CST

Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Education Center at the Wall in Washington, D.C., Nov. 28, 2012.

Vietnam War Memorial vandalized in Big Spring

Click the link to see the damage done in this news report.

Big Spring Veterans Survey Damage to Vietnam Memorial
8/27/12
Tatum Guinn
CBS 7 News


Big Spring - Big Spring Police are on the search for the people who vandalized the Vietnam Memorial over the weekend.

Veterans are in shock as they surveyed the damage to their Vietnam Memorial and now they're asking one question, "why?"

The Vietnam Memorial is a quiet place where Big Spring veterans go for peace of mind.

"At night a lot of guys wake up with bad dreams...they go out there to the memorial to reconcile why they're here and their buddies are not," Mike Tarpley, Vietnam veteran said.

And it was overnight that their place to honor the fallen was vandalized.

"Its a place we go for peace and it's been destroyed," Tarpley said. "They busted out a window of the cobra helicopter and stole the pilots head. I guess they thought it would be funny."

Also damaged was a display case that held items from past wars. A canteen belt and canteen were taken from the case.

Tarpley says the damage done brings back bad memories.

"It took us back to how we were treated when we came home from Vietnam," he said. "We keep thinking that'll be over with, but when that was done, its like man why cant they leave us alone."

At this time, the police do not have any leads in the case. However, they are offering a substantial reward for anyone with information that leads to an arrest.

If you have any information, call the Big Spring Police Department at: 264-2550.

The "In Memory" Plaque to Vietnam Veterans missing honor

The "In Memory" Plaque is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It serves as a place to honor the veterans who died in the years following the war from causes directly related to their military service. The Plaque, unfortunately, is unseen and unknown by many because of the way it is displayed. National Vice-President of VVA Jack Devine and President of AVVA Nancy Switzer discuss the problem with Frank Campanaro, the son of a Vietnam veteran and a combat veteran himself.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial will have 5 more names this Memorial Day

Vietnam Veterans Memorial adds 5 more names in DC
TAGS: Veterans

By: The Associated Press 05/08/11 2:17 AM
The Associated Press
The names of five U.S. soldiers are being added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

A ceremony will be held Sunday morning to honor Army Spec. Charles Sabatier of Galveston, Texas, whose name is being added. He was wounded in the Tet Offensive in 1968 when a bullet pierced his spinal column and left him paralyzed. He died in 2009 as a result of his condition.

The names of four other service members will be added over the next week.

They are: Army Spec. Charles Vest of Lynchburg, Ohio, who remained in a coma for years before he died; Army Sgt. Henry Aderholt of Birmingham, Ala.; Richard Daniels of Washougal, Wash., who served in the Navy; and Peter Holcomb of Grandy, Minn.



Read more at the Washington Examiner: Vietnam Veterans Memorial adds 5 more names in DC

Help me get back to Washington

It's hard to believe it's time to get ready to go back to Washington DC for the Memorial Day ride to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Last year I was too proud to ask for help getting there. Honestly, I've been too proud to ask for help most of the time and it has lead to hardships I didn't need to take on. Much like veterans too proud to ask for help to heal and while I'm able to talk them out of that kind of thinking, I often find it hard to do the same.

Last year I was there in my Chaplain attire just in case someone needed to talk. With hundreds of Veterans staying at the same hotel, it was a sure bet someone would want or need to talk. One Vietnam veteran, unprepared for the emotional impact the weekend would have on him, we talked for a couple of hours. A young Iraq veteran coming to terms with his own PTSD was trying to understand his father, a Vietnam veteran long ago estranged from the family. During the trip there were many conversations and some of them were just simple ones but all of them meant a great deal to me.

Since 1982 these veterans have tugged at my heart more than any other veterans. Last year the trip helped me create three videos. This is one of them.

Turn the Page of PTSD

Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009

Click to Play | View Details

My camera is old and the film came out shaky with each bump in the road. I need to replace it as well as cover the expenses of getting there. Even if I receive no donations at all, I will still be going but I am asking for donations to take this burden off my mind so I can focus on them.

Your donations are tax deductible and you can use the PayPal button on the side bar to help me do the work God has sent me to do. This way, you will go with me in spirit even if you can't go to Washington for Memorial Day. We go to honor the dead and comfort the living.

Here's another one

Memorial Day Nam Knights Ride to the Wall

Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on May 07, 2010

Click to Play | View Details

In Memory Day Ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington

Local vet being honored at Vietnam memorial

By Staff reports
Norton Mirror
Posted Apr 15, 2010 @ 04:13 PM
Norton — Norton Vietnam veteran Alan Wayne Pare is among fellow veterans being honored posthumously Monday in an In Memory Day Ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., according to Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), which holds the ceremony each year.

Ninety-seven American heroes from the Vietnam War era will be honored during the annual In Memory Day Ceremony.

In Memory Day was created to pay tribute to the men and women who died prematurely from non-combat injuries and emotional suffering caused directly by their service in the Vietnam War, but who are not eligible to have their names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
read more here
Local vet being honored at Vietnam memorial

Donation saves memorial for Vietnam War fallen

Donation saves memorial for slain vets
Updated: Sunday, 27 Dec 2009, 11:53 PM MST
Published : Sunday, 27 Dec 2009, 11:25 PM MST

Reporter: Crystal Gutierrez
Web Producer: Devon Armijo
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Thanks to a generous donation, a new traveling memorial to honor New Mexicans killed in the Vietnam War will be built.

Many New Mexican families will never get to make the trip to Washington’s Vietnam Memorial, and that's why many say the new memorial means so much.

399 soldiers will soon be memorialized on a traveling wall.

“This wall will designate that they are from New Mexico,” Vietnam Veteran Sardo Sanchez. “We want all New Mexicans to be able to see it.”

The plan was to unveil the wall in March, but just weeks ago those spearheading the idea thought the dream would fail.

Organizers were short about half the $20,000 needed to build it, until Daniel's Funeral Home stepped up and paid the rest.
read more here
Donation saves memorial for slain vets

Repairs begin at Vietnam Memorial in D.C.

Repairs begin at Vietnam Memorial in D.C.

By Brett Zongker - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 21, 2009 11:48:39 EDT

WASHINGTON — Repair work was under way Wednesday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall as a private memorial fund took over landscaping and maintenance of 13 acres from the National Park Service.

Over the next two weeks, workers are restoring the flagpole’s bronze finish and its decorative base with five military branch insignias. They will also restore the bronze finish for five stands that hold directories that help people find names on famous V-shaped memorial wall, which draws millions of visitors each year.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the memorial, also has repaired an irrigation system and is reseeding and sodding the grass.

Last month, the group announced plans to pay for maintenance at the site because of scarce funding from the federal government. They plan to raise more than $1 million to care for the memorial and grounds, including $500,000 to buy replacement granite if sections of the wall need to be replaced in the future.

“Everybody has the same goal: We want it to look good,” said fund spokeswoman Lisa Gough. “We want it to shine.”
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_vietnam_veterans_memorial_102109/

Photos of fallen Vietnam GI's sought

I really wish they would get this right. A veteran is a person after service, after war, after they come home. They are looking for photographs of fallen GI's (government issued) and not veterans. It would be great if they were looking for the pictures and stories of those who died because of Vietnam and started to count them but they won't. Suicides, Agent Orange, died of exposure as homeless veterans on our streets and in our woods? Their stories don't count, but they should.

Photos of fallen Vietnam veterans sought
Story Highlights
Organizers want to gather photos of soldiers who died in Vietnam War

FedEx Office is providing free electronic scanning service for those submitting photos

More than 58,000 names are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The organizers of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Federal Express are issuing a nationwide "call for photos" to help document the stories of those lost in the war.


A new project is trying to put a face to each of the 58,195 names listed on the Vietnam Wall.

The images will be compiled and displayed at an education center near the Vietnam Wall on the National Mall. To get the original snapshots converted to a digital image that can be stored, the retail chain FedEx Office is providing free electronic scanning service at its 1,600 stores across the country.

Colleen Shine, who lost her father and her uncle in the war, said the effort will pull together "the faces and stories of all the names on the Wall."

At least one photo is sought for each of the 58,195 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. About 10,000 names are already represented on a Web site run by the memorial's foundation.

FedEx staff will also spend time collecting some details about the lost veteran, as described by the family and friends submitting the photographs at the store location
read more here
Photos of fallen Vietnam veterans sought

Vietnam Veterans decry slack lawn upkeep at Vietnam wall

Veterans stake out memorial turf

Decry slack lawn upkeep at Vietnam wall

By Sarah Karush ASSOCIATED PRESS

Frustrated with poor maintenance by the federal government, the group that built the Vietnam War memorial is aiming to improve its little corner of the national Mall by taking over lawn care for 13.5 acres marred by weeds, moss and brown spots.

Officials with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund said they were moved to act after reading an Associated Press investigative story on the lack of federal money for the Mall, despite needed urgent repairs to the area known as "America's front yard."

The AP story in July analyzed congressional spending since 2005 and found the Mall has been at a disadvantage in competing for millions of dollars in extra funds doled out by lawmakers, compared with sites that are represented by powerful members of Congress. The Mall, covering some 650 acres, is in the District, which has no vote in the House or Senate.

Lawmakers frequently direct money to projects back home, but even as the problems became obvious at the national Mall - including the seawall visibly sinking in front of Thomas Jefferson's memorial - Congress killed a bill last year that would have paid for repairs. In January, lawmakers nixed $200 million in proposed stimulus funding for the Mall.

The private Vietnam veterans group plans to spend $96,000 in the coming months to repair a broken irrigation system and provide weed treatment, fertilization, aeration and other work. The group, which is working with the National Park Service to make sure the improvements adhere to the agency's specifications, intends to continue maintaining the grass in the long term, Fund President Jan C. Scruggs told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
read more here
Veterans stake out memorial turf
linked from VAWatchdog

Teen crashes into war memorial

Teen crashes into war memorial
By Brenna R. Kelly • bkelly@nky.com • September 2, 2009


ERLANGER – Three granite stones that memorialize Kenton County residents who died in the Vietnam War will have to be replaced after a car slammed into the Erlanger Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wednesday.

Police say a 16-year-old Elsmere boy was driving drunk in a stolen 2003 Hyundai Elantra was speeding down Dixie Highway while fleeing from police early Wednesday morning. The teen lost control, hit the curb and crashed into the memorial, knocking the stones off their bases and bending a flag pole.

Vietnam veteran Allen Thomas, who lives nearby, surveyed the damage Wednesday morning.

“It’s a sad feeling…but it’s property – we can rebuild it,” said Thomas, secretary of the Northern Kentucky chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America. “We’ll feel bad for a few days or a few weeks until we get it back up.”

The memorial, which has been at the intersection more than 20 years, lists the names of all the Kenton County residents killed in the war. The chapter, which had insurance on the monument, will likely hold a rededication ceremony after the memorial is fixed, Thomas said.
read more here
Teen crashes into war memorial

Fundraising begins for Washington ‘Wall That Heals’ project

Fundraising begins for Washington ‘Wall That Heals’ project




Half-scale Vietnam memorial will visit city in April 2010
By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
Published: Thursday, June 4, 2009 2:20 AM EDT
Vietnam veteran and Washington resident George H. Schryer is getting closer to realizing his dream of bringing a special part of American history to Beaufort County.

Schryer, who was in the Air Force, is leading the movement to have The Wall That Heals — a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. — brought to the original Washington. It’s part of his efforts to ensure that America’s service men and women are not forgotten.

“The statue memorializes the more than 58,000 men and women who were killed during the 10-year-long Vietnam War,” Schryer said.

The traveling memorial is owned and operated by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, a private, nonprofit organization, Schryer explained.

Plans are now in place to display the memorial in Washington April 22-25, 2010.

“I have been wanting to do this for quite some time,” said Schryer, who is incoming commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6088 in Washington and District II Commander. “I couldn’t get all the pieces to fit, and we had to find the right location.”
go here for more
Fundraising for Wall That Heals

Ride for The Wall

Ride for the wall

May 8, 2009 - 7:37 PM
BY WILLIE BANS
The vests are not heavy. Not yet.

But following a cross-country motorcycle ride, through some unpleasant terrains and conditions, the vests, with all their patches and buttons, feel different.

"After some blood, sweat and tears," Ray McDowell said, "it can feel pretty heavy."

For now, the vests that Ray and Kay McDowell plan to wear during the annual Run For The Wall are clean and light, bearing patches with their riding nicknames: "Too Tall," for the hubby and Vietnam veteran, Ray, and "Too Small," for his wife, Kay.

They will take off from Odessa today for California for their sixth ride, which takes them and hundreds of others from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., to Washington D.C., beginning Wednesday and arriving May 22.

They will do so to support the ride's missions: to promote awareness of prisoners of war and those missing in action; help veterans cope with their experiences; honor those killed in action; and support current military personnel.
go here for more
Ride for the wall

Ohio Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Built in Stark County

Ohio Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Built in Stark County
They gave their blood, sweat and tears for this country, even their lives. By the time the Vietnam War was over, 3,095 Ohioans had been killed.

To honor their memory, and to give their families and surviving Vietnam Veterans some closure, a memorial has been built in the town of Clinton, which is in Stark County. It's similar to the Vietnam Veterans' Wall in Washington, D.C., only on a smaller scale.

Organizers of the memorial says its the only one of its kind in Ohio and is the largest free standing monument in the state.

A black granite wall, 125 feet long, is the focus of the Ohio Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Park. On that wall are the names of all 3,095 veterans from Ohio who lost their lives. Facing the wall is a Gold Star Mother statue.

Leading up to and around the wall is a brick paved pathway. Many of the bricks bear the names of people who donated to the privately funded memorial.
go here for video
Ohio Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Built in Stark County

Ronald Richard Fajbik posthumously honored at Vietnam Memorial

Local family remembers loved one at The Wall
By LYDIA COTTRELL lcottrell@timesobserver.com
A Warren County family recently attended a memorial service in Washington, D.C., to honor its fallen hero.

On April 20, Ronald Richard Fajbik was posthumously honored during a ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commonly referred to as "The Wall," with his wife, Laurlie; daughter, Kim; son, Brian; and grandson, Darrin in attendance.

Ron passed away in on Nov. 20, 2005 following an illness as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Herserved in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971.

The ceremony was a part of the In Memory program through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which honors those who died as a result of the Vietnam War, but whose deaths do not fit the Department of Defense criteria for inclusion on The Wall.

"There was information via the web with the Veteran memorial fund," said Laurlie.

She submitted an application for the In Memory program and was accepted.

Laurlie and her family joined 122 other families for the ceremony.

"It was very emotional," she said. "It's rewarding to know there are people out there that do care."

In Warren County, she is the director of the Order of the Silver Rose, which recognizes and honors those who have been stricken with one of the 43 diseases connected with the herbicide Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam and parts of Korea.

go here for more

Local family remembers loved one at The Wall

Ceremony marks lives shortened by Vietnam War and Agent Orange

Ceremony marks lives shortened by Vietnam War
Story Highlights
Event honors those who die of causes thought related to Vietnam service
Agent Orange blamed for leading to deaths of some troops
123 names added to "honor roll" Monday; list totals 1,874
Names are read each year near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial


From Paul Courson
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- About a hundred family, friends and comrades turned out in a heavy rainstorm Monday to honor 123 Americans whose recent deaths they blame on the war in Vietnam.


The event, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, was a chance to "take the names of all the people who have died during the past years from Agent Orange, other diseases, other leukemias and skin cancers that they got from the actual war itself," said Howard Tilton, whose brother-in-law died of cancer linked with Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military in Vietnam.

"He remembers Agent Orange being all over him," said Theresa Tilton, whose brother Damian Wagasky died in 2007. She said he patrolled areas where the chemical was used to destroy the jungle canopy and reveal the enemy.

go here for more

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/20/vietnam.memorial/