THE Wall

[SEATJERKER]

...will be in Cohoes NY this weekend, about three miles from my house, not sure if it is the official one or not as when I checked the website for the exact schedule it wasn't listed,...

..."Welcome Home",...

...With all that is going on in the world, and here with the hair raising, and spliting, I just would like to add that our determination will always be strong, and our comradeship must never be undermind by the present status of our Nation...

...Change what must be changed by deceisive reasoning, and solid "get back to the American way of doing things", Hard work, long days, and do the job right, or not at all, the first time for the good of all,...

...Make it a point to buy right,...
... Buy American,...
... If your building it, build it the best you can
...QUALITY, not quantity, bring back a time when your work was when your name went on it, and pride mattered,...

...SUCK IT UP, AND MOVE FORWARD,...

...

[SEATJERKER]

...


By: Robert Cristo , The Record 09/19/2003




COHOES - As the names of each of the 58,202 soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War were solemnly uttered Thursday, families shed tears for loved ones lost and children were given a sharp dose of reality about the heartbreak caused by warfare.


Robert I. Moore, Jeffrey Perez, Paul W. Quick III, Arlyn Blauwk, John N. Brewer ... The endless stream of lost sons, mothers, daughters, fathers and friends being quietly announced set the somber tone for gatherers searching for names on the traveling Vietnam Wall That Heals at Lansing Park.
The 252-foot black, V-shaped traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., officially opened to the public for viewing, healing and reflecting Thursday morning and will remain open 24 hours a day until midnight Sunday.
After years of avoiding the painful wounds reopened by visiting the permanent wall in Washington, local Vietnam veteran David Fisher Sr., 55, knew in his heart it was time to come to terms with the loss of so many of his comrades in battle.
"They say this is supposed to start the healing process and that's what I'm here for," said Fisher, who is originally from Cohoes and now lives in Gansevoort. "Being here, seeing all those names definitely conjures up some pretty painful memories and puts things in perspective."
Fisher, who brought his son, David Fisher Jr., and a videocamera to capture the emotional moment, was the crew chief of a U.S. Marines medic van in Vietnam. He searched for the names John C. Hines, Tim Frazier and John Lander (all of Cohoes), as well as Tom Gopp and Ted Lynski, who were from his outfit.
"I probably held a lot of these kids in their last minutes," said Fisher while staring at the names etched on the black reflective panels. "I remember them just about every day. ... That's part of the guarantee I made, to never forget."
Others were too choked up to speak as they pressed their hands on the names of loved ones lost and tried to remember the smiling faces that were swept away in a war that split America wide open.
"There's one boy on here ... I watched him die in Vietnam ... he told me, 'never forget me,' and every day I wake up and remember him and bless him," said Cohoes resident and veteran Jack Coonradt, who was the inspiration behind bringing the wall to the city.
"I don't even know his name, but the memory of that kid will stay with me forever," he added.
For hundreds of students at Abram Lansing Elementary School and members of the Christian Brothers Academy Honor Guard, the experience of witnessing a widow in tears kneeling at her husband's name for more than 40 minutes sent a powerful message about the brutality of war.
Some members of the Honor Guard stood at attention at different parts of the memorial, while a group of about 50 others quietly marched around it, some taking turns reading the names of the dead.
"At first I was just concentrating on getting the names right, but then I started thinking about all the heartbreak caused and the incredible amount of people that died for freedom," said 18-year-old Philip Fasinacci, a senior at the academy. "That's when emotions began rushing through me as I read the names and thought about the past and the Americans dying in conflicts going on today."
Inside and outside of Abram Lansing, which is within about 100 feet of the wall, students were learning lessons about the war while making rubbings of the names and constructing a 3,000-foot strip of tape with dots representing each of the fallen soldiers' names.
"I saw people crying, hugging each other and looking very sad when they read the names of people they knew in high school," said fifth-grader Christina Kelley, 10, of Cohoes. "Before this I never really felt that bad about it. But when I went to see the wall it really hit me, even though nobody I know died in any war."
Throughout the Capital District, 111 soldiers perished in the war, including five who hailed from Cohoes.
The combined efforts of local groups such as the Cohoes Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Tri-County Council of Vietnam Era Veterans, the American Legion E.T. Ruane Post 476, former Cohoes Chamber of Commerce president Mike Brooks and the Veterans of Lansingburgh helped raise the $10,000 needed to make Coonradt's vision a reality.
The concept of building a moving wall grew out of discussions held by a group of veterans from California in the early '80s. Since its completion in 1984, the wall has visited hundreds of cities, towns and villages throughout the country.

?The Record 2003


...I went yesterday to again pay my respects to the men, and women that gave their ultimate sacrifice to our Nation, I went to visit with my wife's cousin, Harold R. Simonds,, panel 25 w line 51,...

...Harold grew up in Gloverville Ny, name as it sounds represents just what it says, it was a town that manufactured gloves for the whole world, but not anymore does it hold that title,...

...Harold is a Marine that was in Quang Nam in 69 and his cause of death was by "Misadventure", possibly the worst from a parent's point of view, I have met his brother a few times, and the pale stare signifies the long embeded pain,...

...but through the darkness comes a light of hope, My bro in law, and his wife have kept Harold's memory alive as they went to the Ukraine, and adopted a young boy and has brought him to America to live in freedom, He is called Riley which is Harold's middle name, and I believe his proper name is now Harold Riley Simonds Bender, unuasual as it may be for a boy to have more then the traditional first, middle, and last, his title of namesake shall forever carry the light of freedom upon sacrifice by one of America's finest...

...I want you all to reflect on memories of purpose, the memories of why, and what has been done to preserve the heritage of this Nation,...

...We all have given our all in continuing this quest to rid the world of it's evil, and must realize that it must be completly stopped by all means nesc,..

...Harold, "You are not forgotten", nor will your valor,...

..."Welcome Home"...

...

[onesix]

Out of 1058 views and 61 replies, only 32 have taken the time and effort to answer the poll.

[BLUEHAWK]

Dear Lord in heaven...

Paul, Walter, Kenny, Bruce, Charlie, Bill, Mark, Evan... what would you say 'bout where we've come from then...

See ya soon old boys, Welcome home.

I'da took your place to be outa where we are now.

[Sgt_Tropo]

Okay, I admit it. I voted twice. Oops !

[reeb]

ONESIX,

I still cant get this darn thingamuhgig to vote for me. I try and try , but somewhere this "nitwit" (me) wont let me.

At least I did make a reply cause I still care one heck of alot about the lost ones from Nam, and the surviving ones.

enough.........

[SEATJERKER]

By: Robert Cristo , The Record 09/20/2003




COHOES - The sorrowful expressions on the sea of faces who paid tribute in Lansing Park Friday to the soldiers who shed blood in the Vietnam War proved time does not heal old wounds, even after more than 30 years.


The official opening ceremony of the traveling "Wall That Heals" not only paid tribute to the 58,202 soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam, but to all the American soldiers who died in past wars, survived or are currently serving around the world.
"The pain may subside, but it never truly goes away. But had it not been for all the men and women who served, the rest of us wouldn't have the privilege of bragging we live in the freest country in the world," exclaimed U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty, D-Green Island, to the more than 200 solemn gatherers who attended.
McNulty dug deep down into his own heart to reflect about the mixture of pain and pride he felt knowing the name of his brother, William Francis McNulty, was emblazoned on the 252-foot long black V-Shaped wall he faced while at the podium.

Almost as if it happened yesterday, McNulty relived the dreadful moment when he learned his brother was killed in action ... a moment that changed his and his family's lives forever.
"I walked in ... my family was gathered at the kitchen table, and when I saw a military person there, I knew," said McNulty. "Initially I was quite bitter; I couldn't speak about it for years.
"(But the military) is the reason why I get up in the morning to thank God for my life and veterans for 'our way of life,'" he added while looking over at about 60 retired and active servicemen lined up in front of the wall, holding flags and dressed in Army and Marine uniforms.
Other speakers such as Cohoes Mayor John McDonald, former local Legislator and television personality Ralph Vartigian, as well as, Albany County Executive Michael Breslin and Rensselaer County Executive Cathy Jimino participated on a night when the clouds seemed to only rim the park and the breeze felt to many as if the souls of every lost veteran passed through hollowed ground.
Breslin, a Vietnam veteran who served in the 82nd Airborne Division, told the crowd there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't reflect on all the young souls who never made it back to their families and hopes for the future.
"Until I went to the Vietnam Wall in Washington, I never spoke about the war. ... I felt bad about all those kids, barely 20 who didn't come back," said Breslin. "They were the most magnificent humanbeings I ever associated with. ... They stood up and went when others didn't, and we all owe them tremendous gratitude.
Last to speak was local Vietnam Veteran Helen Vartigian, a retired Army nurse who McNulty hailed as "our angel of mercy" who tended to the victims of war.
Vartigian, 62, is one of the estimated 7,500 women who served in the war as nurses and air traffic controllers as well as numerous other positions.
The Cohoes resident discussed how she volunteered to care for the injured in 1966 and held the hands of the dying soldiers who never made it back at an evacuation hospital that aided the 25th Infantry Division.
In perhaps the most moving part of the ceremony, Vartigian read from a poem titled "Dusty and her Beloved Patient David," which is about a nurse's pledge to stay with a fatally wounded soldier.
"Hello David, my name is Dusty. ... I will stay with you, I will check your vitals, hang your blood, stay with you and touch your face and tell your mother you were brave and how much you loved her," read Vartigian to the transfixed crowd.
She continued to read: "I will stay with you and watch your life flow into my soul. I am the last (person) you will see, touch and that will love you."
The program concluded with a prayer followed by a ceremonial 21-gun rifle salute that sent shots into the air and a poignant playing of the song Taps as dusk settled in on the park.
The wall will remain open 24-hours a day until midnight Sunday. A candlelight vigil is also scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m.

?The Record 2003



..."Welcome Home"...

...

[BLUEHAWK]

Seat -
Thanks for those...

[revwardoc]

My wife and I went to the opening ceremonies of theMoving Wall's visit to Gardner, MA this past Saturday. I've been to the Wall in D.C. so I really didn't think too much about seeing this one; until I did. I walked slowly from one end to the other, reading all the names until I came to one section that had a high school graduation photo propped up against it, and that's when it really hit me. Ijust stared at it and realized that I was looking into the face of someone who would be eternally 19 or 20, but someone who would never have the pleasure of saying "I do" while looking into the eyes of a girl he truly loved, who would never hear his baby cry for the first time, who would never have the opportunity for higher education, to succeed and fail for a hundred times, to spoil his grandchildren. Then I stepped back so I could take in all 58,000 names...and was overwhelmed with a feeling of shame and "Why not me, too?". There were several "Gold Star Mothers"who told their stories of the sons they lost and the pain of living without them. There were also several Vietnam vets who hid behind their sunglasses and held their grandkids a little closer. It was both a sad and wonderful event and I'm glad I went. I personally know 3 names on that Wall and have a passing acquaintance with all the others. Someday we'll all eventually be together for good, swapping stories and lies, passing a bottle, laughing at the jokes, crying over the sad tales. Maybe soldiers from other eras will come on over to see what all the noise is about and we'll teach each other a few things. Until then, we can only look at the fading photographs, re-read the tattered letters...and remember them.

[BLUEHAWK]

Saw the film "Platoon" last night again, on History Channel, Mortardude's unit... dunno how accurate it is, but thought of The Wall from start to finish.