Hide Article Text (OCR)
10 years at the wallThomas Culp takes a moment to himself last Father’s Day near where his father, Army Capt. Thomas Dale Culp, is listed.Vietnam Veterans Memorial has helped a nation healBy George EsperThe Associated PressWASHINGTON - Marsha Hall stands before the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, crying for America’s fallen, and once forgotten.She is crying to remind a nation that turned away from its most divisive war of the 58,175 men and eight women honored by the sleek polished black granite monument.“Having it placed next to the Washington Monument, it’s so fitting, she says. “This is going to be here forever so that all those people will know.For many, the 492-foot, chevron-shaped wall, dedicated 10 years ago this week, has helped heal the wounds of a war the United States couldn’t win and most people wanted to forget.While memorializing the dead, it also is a tribute to the living veterans shunned when they returned home from the 14-year war of attrition that was America’s longest.Reading the names etched on the 140 granite tablets is a roll call of the agony of war.“There were a lot of people that were killed and a lot of people that were ignored when they came home, says Hall, 42. “That’s the reason we need to have this. It shows the world that they fought and died for this' country even though we didn't win the conflict.One of the 58,183 names belongs to Wilson Hailey; he was a high school friend of her husband, James. As his wife watches, James Hall runs his hand 'across Hailey’s name and then takes a photo of it. His father and Hailey’s mother were teachers together at Chestertown High School in Indiana.The ritual is similar for Jim Robbins, 41, a Vietnam veteran from Centralia, 111., who uses pencil and paper to make rubbings of names for friends back home whose relatives were killed.To him, the rows of names, taken together, are staggering.“It’s just overwhelming, Robbins says, “to see what it cost in lives.Please see MEMORIAL/16
Newspaper Details
Santa Ana Orange County Register
Santa Ana, California, US
Sun, Nov 08, 1992
Page 370
Full Page
Clipped by
Robert T.
NY, USA 30 Aug 2017
Other Publications Near Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana Pacific Weekly Blade
Santa Ana Excelsior
Santa Ana News
Santa Ana Evening Blade
Santa Ana Orange County Register Evening
