by Dianna M. Náñez on Nov. 10, 2011, under Arizona Republic News
Today Tempe veteran David Lucier, 63, who served in the U.S. Army Special Forces during the Vietnam War, will cradle pieces of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in his hands. Etched into the coal-hued sections that make up the memorial will be names of thousands of Vietnam veterans.
“I’ve got a lot of dead friends on that wall,” he said as his voice cracked with emotion. “It’s going to be very difficult. But we’ll put it up together and it will be there for the weekend for everyone to see.”
In honor of Veterans Day, the wall is making its final stop of the year in the Valley. During the year, the memorial traveled the country to 15 cities as a reminder of the sacrifices America’s Vietnam veterans made. Of the more than 3 million Americans who served in the Vietnam War, more than 58,000 died and some 150,000 were seriously wounded.
Lucier will join about 30-40 other veterans and volunteers from across the Valley who are helping piece together the 72 4-foot sections that make up the 3/5 scale of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The replica stands 6 feet tall at the center and covers almost 300 feet from end to end. It will be on display Friday through Sunday at Luis Gonzalez Arizona Diamondbacks Field in Tempe Beach Park. Family and friends who cannot travel to D.C. are able to see the name of their loved ones on the memorial.
Valley veterans say the wall unites soldiers of all generations who know the pain of losing friends in war. The toll of that loss is the same regardless of age, said Vietnam veteran Greg Welsh, 62. Welsh served 21 years in the U.S. Air Force.
Welsh is a member of the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard in Brevard County, Florida. The organization is a non-profit that provides support for veterans and paid for the traveling wall to be built.
On Wednesday, Welsh and his wife were greeted by the Patriot Guard Riders Arizona Chapter. About 50 motorcycles riders dressed in leather and red, white and blue escorted the wall, which was aboard the semi-truck Welsh drove across the country to Tempe.
The group gathered at Tempe Beach Park. Veterans hugged and thanked each other for their service. Harold Thomas, Arizona’s Patriot Guard Riders captain, said he was honored to welcome the wall to Arizona.
Thomas is a Vietnam-era veteran.
“It took me more than 30 years to see ‘The Wall.’” Thomas said referring to the Washington, D.C. memorial he saw for the first time in 2008. “For us Vietnam veterans it’s a pretty emotional experience. Our brothers and sisters died in the war.”
Thomas said the experience of seeing the memorial was healing.
“A lot of people think that when you come home it’s all over,” Thomas said. “But the vet has a lot of internal processing–there’s emotional and physical scars to deal with.”
Thomas and Lucier are among the many Arizona veterans reaching out to younger soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Those connections are very important. Welcoming them (soldiers) home and making sure they have all the support they need is number one. That wasn’t there for Vietnam veterans of the past,” he said.
Welsh escorted the wall to all 15 cities. Each time someone thanks him or another Vietnam veteran it goes a long way in easing the pain felt by soldiers who were ostracized by the American public for their service in the unpopular war.
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