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Jul 06, 2023

Swab: Volunteering at Vietnam memorial says 'thank you for your service'

The Wall That Heals, a 250-foot replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, visited Port Byron in 2017. A Vietnam veteran recently visited the office to check on benefits for some health

The Wall That Heals, a 250-foot replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, visited Port Byron in 2017.

A Vietnam veteran recently visited the office to check on benefits for some health conditions. During his visits he also brought up memories long suppressed to get help dealing with post-traumatic stress. He had served, did what he needed to, came home, and went back to work on the farm. He no longer ate dinner with his mother because of the anxiety caused by his experiences. This is one story, but we also have others from Vietnam and more recent veterans as well. We hope to identify, support and help more veterans like this by bringing The Wall That Heals to Cayuga County in September — but we need volunteers to sign up now!

U.S. combat operations in Vietnam ended 50 years ago, but each day there are around 1,500 members of our community who still live with memories from their military service during that time. There are 58,318 names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in honor of those killed in Vietnam, with 27 of those from Cayuga County, including Medal of Honor awardee Robert F. Stryker. Over 300,000 service members were wounded in Vietnam and many Purple Heart recipients still live in Cayuga County. Still more Vietnam veterans have died since serving and many of those from service-connected conditions, leaving widows and family members with only memories.

Even if they didn’t go to Vietnam, service members of that era were not greeted with the obligatory “thank you for your service” that we take for granted today. Many were scorned, some spit on, and the term “baby killer” was even used as a greeting. Through this adversity the Vietnam veterans persevered, supporting each other. They even started the Vietnam Veterans of America because they weren’t accepted by other veteran organizations. They could have pulled back (and some did) from a society that did not support them. As a group they rallied, ensuring that what they endured would not continue, under the slogan, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."

As a post-Vietnam veteran, I know that I have reaped benefits of their hardships. During the first Gulf War it was the leaders who had served in Vietnam who ensured that if we were going to war, we were going all-in to win decisively. When we came home it was the Vietnam-era veterans who ensured that we were given a “welcome home” that many of them hadn’t received. Global war on terrorism veterans have also benefited from the service of the Vietnam veterans through pressure on the federal government to improve Veteran Affairs programs, from which many of those newer veterans are beneficiaries.

This event, The Wall That Heals, is for everyone in the community. We must never forget the cost of war, and seeing over 58,000 names (more than the population of Auburn) in black granite is a sobering experience — realizing that each name represents a person and a life cut short. We must learn from our past, both the good and the bad. Volunteering will give you a new appreciation for service and helping others.

Signing up is easy: Just visit cayugacountyvvachapter704.com, find "The Wall That Heals" and click on “Volunteer,” or call us at (315) 253-1281. There will also be an event at Cayuga Community College that weekend where a Vietnam veteran will present photographs and stories of his time in Vietnam.

Volunteers are sought to help with the return of The Wall That Heals to Cayuga County in September.

The wall, a three-quarters-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, will come to Falcon Park along with a mobile education center on Thursday, Sept. 14, through Sunday, Sept. 17.

Less than 50% of that weekend's volunteer shifts are currently filled, making the need urgent.

Volunteer orientation will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, following a pig roast dinner. Volunteers will also receive T-shirts and refreshments. Volunteer duties will include setup, parking assistance greeting visitors, assisting with finding names on the wall and name rubbings, providing information at the wall and the mobile education center, answering questions and handing out brochures.

The wall will be free and open to the public, 24 hours a day. It last came to Cayuga County in 2017, when it drew more than 8,000 visitors at Dana L. West Jr.-Sr. High School in Port Byron.

For more information, visit thewallthatheals.org. To sign up to volunteer, visit signupgenius.com/go/10c084fa4a82dabf5c70-thewall# or call (315) 253-1281.

Through Sunday, June 4, Port Byron's athletic complex is hosting The Wall That Heals, a 250-foot, 24-panel, half-scale replica of the memorial wall that contains the names of the more than 58,000 men and women killed and about 1,600 missing from the 20-year Vietnam War.

Kevin Swab is director of the Cayuga County Veterans' Service Agency, located on the third floor of 95 Genesee St. in Auburn. For more information, call the agency at (315) 253-1281 or visit cayugacounty.us/318/Veterans-Service-Agency.

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