Vermillion man will read names at Vietnam Wall
By Loretta Sorensen Journal correspondent | Posted: Friday, November 09, 2007
VERMILLION, S.D. -- Tears still come easily to Eldon Nygaard when he talks of comrades who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.
Nygaard, who served as a helicopter pilot in the war, said 70 percent of the men in his flight class did not survive their Vietnam tour of duty.
"It was very difficult," Nygaard said. "I was shot down four times and wounded once. My role changed several times while I was there. Initially, I flew an assault helicopter. I ended up flying as a scout pilot. I looked for the enemy, drew fire from them and then our tanks came in and cleaned up on them."
Nygaard, who operates Valiant Vineyards and established Buffalo Run Winery at Vermillion, has been invited to be in Washington, D.C. Saturday as one of many veterans and dignitaries from across the United States to read names of soldiers inscribed on the Vietnam Wall.
"I'm just glad my name's not on the Wall," he said. "There's always the guilt, why did I survive and others around me didn't? It won't be easy. I went there once before, by myself. That was a bad idea. My wife, Sherry, will be with me this time."
Nygaard, who served in Vietnam from 1967 through 1968, said that, as the years have gone by, he has realized more and more how much the families of soldiers who died in Vietnam have sacrificed.
"I've followed one family whose son died there," he said. "They were in their sixties at the time. They died not that many years after he did. At the cemetery, they're buried on either side of their son. They didn't have cancer or anything like that. I can imagine they died of broken hearts."
Nygaard, who has an adult son and daughter, believes U.S. soldiers have a duty to serve their country without question; however, he believes U.S. citizens do need to question the motives of any war.
"They need to ask what the purpose is," Nygaard said. "We're sending our most valuable capital, our youth. Is it a worthy cause? On Veterans Day, we honor combatants who served. And those who served in Vietnam did so honorably."
Nygaard has been actively involved in plans to expand the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with an underground Memorial Center. Nygaard has assisted in raising $100 million for the project which is still in the planning stage.
He also has provided legal services through the U.S. Court of Appeals Pro Bono Program for veterans who are seeking benefits that have been wrongly denied them.
"South Dakota's regional office for the Veterans Administration is one of the best in the country," Nygaard said. "What I've been involved in are some cases that slipped through the cracks at some time or other. Often veterans don't really know what resources are available to them and where to go to apply for them."
Nygaard took a rain check at a local Veterans Day event in order to attend the readings in Washington.
"I wouldn't miss this," he said. "We didn't pronounce the Vietnam War. Congress and the government sent us. We answered the call. There 's no finer soldiers in the world than what we produce here in America."
Ralph Swain of Sioux City also will participate Saturday in the "Reading of the Names" ceremony which will take place for 65 hours over a four-day period.
Nygaard, who served as a helicopter pilot in the war, said 70 percent of the men in his flight class did not survive their Vietnam tour of duty.
"It was very difficult," Nygaard said. "I was shot down four times and wounded once. My role changed several times while I was there. Initially, I flew an assault helicopter. I ended up flying as a scout pilot. I looked for the enemy, drew fire from them and then our tanks came in and cleaned up on them."
Nygaard, who operates Valiant Vineyards and established Buffalo Run Winery at Vermillion, has been invited to be in Washington, D.C. Saturday as one of many veterans and dignitaries from across the United States to read names of soldiers inscribed on the Vietnam Wall.
"I'm just glad my name's not on the Wall," he said. "There's always the guilt, why did I survive and others around me didn't? It won't be easy. I went there once before, by myself. That was a bad idea. My wife, Sherry, will be with me this time."
Nygaard, who served in Vietnam from 1967 through 1968, said that, as the years have gone by, he has realized more and more how much the families of soldiers who died in Vietnam have sacrificed.
"I've followed one family whose son died there," he said. "They were in their sixties at the time. They died not that many years after he did. At the cemetery, they're buried on either side of their son. They didn't have cancer or anything like that. I can imagine they died of broken hearts."
Nygaard, who has an adult son and daughter, believes U.S. soldiers have a duty to serve their country without question; however, he believes U.S. citizens do need to question the motives of any war.
"They need to ask what the purpose is," Nygaard said. "We're sending our most valuable capital, our youth. Is it a worthy cause? On Veterans Day, we honor combatants who served. And those who served in Vietnam did so honorably."
Nygaard has been actively involved in plans to expand the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with an underground Memorial Center. Nygaard has assisted in raising $100 million for the project which is still in the planning stage.
He also has provided legal services through the U.S. Court of Appeals Pro Bono Program for veterans who are seeking benefits that have been wrongly denied them.
"South Dakota's regional office for the Veterans Administration is one of the best in the country," Nygaard said. "What I've been involved in are some cases that slipped through the cracks at some time or other. Often veterans don't really know what resources are available to them and where to go to apply for them."
Nygaard took a rain check at a local Veterans Day event in order to attend the readings in Washington.
"I wouldn't miss this," he said. "We didn't pronounce the Vietnam War. Congress and the government sent us. We answered the call. There 's no finer soldiers in the world than what we produce here in America."
Ralph Swain of Sioux City also will participate Saturday in the "Reading of the Names" ceremony which will take place for 65 hours over a four-day period.
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Soldiers wife wrote on Nov 9, 2007 3:51 PM:
Tim Thorson wrote on Nov 9, 2007 11:08 AM: