'Wall That Heals' opens in South Sioux City
'Rub your fingers over a name...'
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, October 19, 2007
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- Diane Bois D'Arc was overwhelmed by the 58,000 names etched in column after column on The Wall That Heals.
She was searching for the name of her cousin, John Barnaby. Finally, she and her husband, David Charlonne, who served two tours in Vietnam patrolling rivers on a Navy boat, headed for the nearby computers to get some help.
They were among a determined corps of veterans, family members and public officials who braved an hourlong deluge Thursday morning to be part of the opening ceremonies for The Wall That Heals.
The Wall, a traveling, half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., will be on display through the 2 p.m. closing ceremony on Sunday at the Jeffrey C. Dible Soccer Complex in South Sioux City. The Wall includes museumlike displays and a searchable database of the names on The Wall.
The South Sioux City Community High School band played a selection of patriotic tunes before the ceremony. Several people walked along The Wall clutching umbrellas as they looked for the names of acquaintances or family members killed in the war.
Col. George "Bud" Day, 83, who was held prisoner of war in Vietnam for nearly six years, stood among the crowd, sharing an umbrella with Mary McNamara, the organizer of The Wall's visit.
Retired Senior Master Sgt. Larry S. Brooks, the event's keynote speaker, talked about the divisiveness of the war both among the soldiers who fought it and in communities across the United States. And he spoke of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial's role in healing the wounds of both. He encouraged his audience, whether they were alive during the war or not, to rub their fingers over a name on the replica to feel the healing energy.
Brooks, himself a Vietnam veteran, scoffed as he read a message from then-Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. It was printed in a pamphlet given to soldiers deploying to Vietnam. In it, McNamara encouraged the GIs to get to know the friendly Vietnamese people and predicted they would enjoy perusing the country's markets.
"McNamara didn't have a clue and still doesn't," Brooks said.
Brooks, who grew up in South Sioux City and now lives in Las Vegas, is researching Dakota County veterans back to the Civil War. On Thursday, he told the story of Sgt. Gary M. Culbertson, a local boy whose name is on The Wall. He said lore holds that Culbertson died from drinking a Coke laced with acid (a "treat" sometimes offered to GIs by Vietnamese children). But his research showed Culbertson died in a land-mine explosion during intense fighting.
South Sioux City Mayor Bob Giese told the gathering: "For every name, there's a family and friends of a veteran whose loss can never be forgotten and whose dreams never came true. The sacrifices of servicemen and women must never be forgotten.
"Today we say the words, 'Welcome home, Siouxland veterans, and thank you for your service.'"
Representatives of South Sioux City, Dakota City and Jackson, Neb., and of Sioux City, Sergeant Bluff and North Sioux City placed memorial wreaths in front of The Wall. An empty chair reminded those who shivered in the rain of the prisoners of war and those missing in action who still have not come home. An Army helmet atop an upright rifle with empty boots beside it signified the soldiers who came home only in caskets.
The ceremony ended with the playing of taps -- with an echo.
She was searching for the name of her cousin, John Barnaby. Finally, she and her husband, David Charlonne, who served two tours in Vietnam patrolling rivers on a Navy boat, headed for the nearby computers to get some help.
They were among a determined corps of veterans, family members and public officials who braved an hourlong deluge Thursday morning to be part of the opening ceremonies for The Wall That Heals.
The Wall, a traveling, half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., will be on display through the 2 p.m. closing ceremony on Sunday at the Jeffrey C. Dible Soccer Complex in South Sioux City. The Wall includes museumlike displays and a searchable database of the names on The Wall.
The South Sioux City Community High School band played a selection of patriotic tunes before the ceremony. Several people walked along The Wall clutching umbrellas as they looked for the names of acquaintances or family members killed in the war.
Col. George "Bud" Day, 83, who was held prisoner of war in Vietnam for nearly six years, stood among the crowd, sharing an umbrella with Mary McNamara, the organizer of The Wall's visit.
Retired Senior Master Sgt. Larry S. Brooks, the event's keynote speaker, talked about the divisiveness of the war both among the soldiers who fought it and in communities across the United States. And he spoke of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial's role in healing the wounds of both. He encouraged his audience, whether they were alive during the war or not, to rub their fingers over a name on the replica to feel the healing energy.
Brooks, himself a Vietnam veteran, scoffed as he read a message from then-Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. It was printed in a pamphlet given to soldiers deploying to Vietnam. In it, McNamara encouraged the GIs to get to know the friendly Vietnamese people and predicted they would enjoy perusing the country's markets.
"McNamara didn't have a clue and still doesn't," Brooks said.
Brooks, who grew up in South Sioux City and now lives in Las Vegas, is researching Dakota County veterans back to the Civil War. On Thursday, he told the story of Sgt. Gary M. Culbertson, a local boy whose name is on The Wall. He said lore holds that Culbertson died from drinking a Coke laced with acid (a "treat" sometimes offered to GIs by Vietnamese children). But his research showed Culbertson died in a land-mine explosion during intense fighting.
South Sioux City Mayor Bob Giese told the gathering: "For every name, there's a family and friends of a veteran whose loss can never be forgotten and whose dreams never came true. The sacrifices of servicemen and women must never be forgotten.
"Today we say the words, 'Welcome home, Siouxland veterans, and thank you for your service.'"
Representatives of South Sioux City, Dakota City and Jackson, Neb., and of Sioux City, Sergeant Bluff and North Sioux City placed memorial wreaths in front of The Wall. An empty chair reminded those who shivered in the rain of the prisoners of war and those missing in action who still have not come home. An Army helmet atop an upright rifle with empty boots beside it signified the soldiers who came home only in caskets.
The ceremony ended with the playing of taps -- with an echo.
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