Vietnam Veteran Memorials: Remember Those Who Served

The United States of America entered the Vietnam Conflict in the middle of the 20^th century, creating much controversy. While the Vietnam Conflict was clearly a war, the U.S. only classified it as a conflict. Some soldiers feel that this is why they were treated so poorly by their own country. While all is not mended, time has begun to heal the attitudes surrounding the Vietnam Conflict. The government, as well as independent organizations, has built memorials to recognize the Vietnam veterans. Additionally, school systems are beginning to educate students about the Vietnam Conflict. The war tore the nation apart, but now efforts are being made to heal America's wounds.

Introduction:

Three Vietnam memorials are currently touring the nation, teaching Americans the unknown facts about the Conflict. The first piece is a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which called the Moving Wall. The LZ Arielle Vietnam Veterans' Display is the second piece. This memorial is a collection of artifacts from Vietnam. The final piece is the Quilt of Tears, which seeks justice for the Vietnam veterans who were killed in the battlefields of America - the ones who died after the Conflict. These passionate memorials recognize the veterans who were once scorned.

Moving Wall:

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built in 1982 and is permanently located in Washington, D.C. It was designed as a place for people to come and remember the soldiers who died in Vietnam. In 1984 John Devitt created the Moving Wall, as a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, to tour the nation so more people could see it.

Glenn Ream, a Vietnam veteran and current secretary for the Lapeer County Vietnam Veterans, hopes the replica will give more people a chance to see the Memorial. He said, "Many people will never have the money to travel to D.C. to see the Wall itself."

Ream noted the specification of the Moving Wall, saying that it contains over 58,000 names of deceased soldiers. He also mentioned that there are eight women recognized on the Wall.

Devitt's Moving Wall replicates the black marble stone design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, with the names listed in a unique triangular fashion. Ream explained that they are listed chronologically, rather than alphabetically. Furthermore, the Wall is divided into two sides - one for the western states, and the other for the eastern states. There are crosses beside some names, which signify the solider is missing in action. When the solider is found, the crosses are made into diamonds to indicate that the soldier has been identified. Flower baskets are portioned along the entire memorial.

The traveling exhibit offers more than facts, though; it offers meaning. While the description may make it sound complicated, the simplicity of the Wall speaks for itself: it is a place for remembrance, reflection, and mourning.

Fortunately, the Wall can help people move on. Ream told a story of two soldiers who switched places. That day, one of the soldiers was killed, while the other lived. The living soldier held himself responsible for years, but Ream took the opportunity to help him accept the situation. The Moving Wall setup the chance for the soldier to get past the horrible incident.

He explained to the soldier, "In war you can get through until there's a bullet with your name on it, and then your time is up. So if one didn't get you and it got your buddy, that's just the way it happens. And basically it was your lucky day."

Ream said the purpose of the Wall is to help people "make some kind of peace from whatever the causes were."

The Vietnam Conflict was not pretty, and the Moving Wall is not trying to glorify the gruesome event, but it is trying to recognize the soldiers who deserve appreciation. And they are trying to bring peace to those who knew the people whose names are on the Wall.

More information about the Moving Wall can be found at www.themovingwall.org.

LZ Arielle:

The LZ Arielle Vietnam Veterans' Display is another Vietnam memorial, which functions to help people picture the Vietnam Conflict. Frank Schaffer, who served in Vietnam from 1972 - 1973, owns the display.

He said, "It's a display of Vietnam memorabilia depicting what the Vietnam experience was all about."

Schaffer has been running this memorial for twelve years, and has collected many artifacts, saying he saved his own equipment, and has bought some at fleemarkets, garage sales, and on Ebay.

"I saved all this stuff that I brought back, and instead of putting it in my basement, I decided to take it out and bring it to schools to educate people."

Schaffer said he began the display to supplement the Moving Wall as it traveled around the United States. Soon, he realized it would be a great way to educate children, as well, so now he visits around five schools a year. In all, Schaffer has visited around 50 schools.

While the Moving Wall allows people to remember the soldiers who were lost in the Vietnam Conflict, it does not describe the event. Schaffer wants people to understand what Vietnam was like.

He noted, "I decided to do this because the Wall itself doesn't really educate people as to what it's all about."

LZ Arielle, on the other hand, depicts the history of the Vietnam Conflict. It has heavy machinery, military uniforms, photographs, fliers, and much more on display.

In his own words, Schaffer explained, "The display consists of over 800 items with approximately 75% of the items coming from Vietnam. The display tells the story of the soldiers' journey from basic training through his or her time in-country to the problems back home. Included is a section on the war protest movement. A "hands on" display consists of all the equipment carried by the "grunts" including an M-16 and an M-60. All weapons and ammo on display are de-milled (made inoperative)."

Schaffer aims to teach by sight and experience. In fact, he encourages children to try on the military uniforms so they can feel what it was like to be a soldier. Furthermore, he takes the opportunity to teach visitors about Vietnam.

John Adams, a fellow Vietnam veteran who frequently helps Schaffer out, said, "We have so much fun dressing them up as soldiers and talking to them."

Schaffer and Adams hope to use LZ Arielle as an outlet to change the negative stereotypes about Vietnam veterans. Adams said, "By the kids coming here, they find out that Vietnam veterans are no different than other soldiers. We just went and did what our country asked us to do."

In the past, people have viewed Vietnam veterans negatively, due to the split opinions about the Conflict. Moreover, the public has grown to see many of these veterans as drug addicts.

Adams said otherwise, declaring, "I don't use drugs. I don't use alcohol. I don't smoke."

Schaffer and Adams give the U.S. government their full support. However, they both express discontent over the government's handling of the Vietnam Conflict.

According to Adams, "It was never declared a war."

He caught himself calling it a war, and then asked Schaffer to clarify. Supposedly, the government never declared it an official war, rather calling it a Conflict. Both Schaffer and Adams believe that this is a big reason why many Americans have despised Vietnam veterans in the past.

Helping people understand more about the Vietnam Conflict and changing public sentiment toward Vietnam veterans is not easy, but they are not alone on this mission anymore. According to John Adams, Saginaw Valley College now offers a Vietnam history course. The class studies books such as the Debate over Vietnam and the Cold War Mandarin.

As Americans continue to open themselves to understanding what happened in Vietnam, Schaffer and Adams hope that this will start a trend in education.

Schaffer also explained that while he has put much of his personal memorabilia into the display, the memorial is still expensive to maintain. Anyone wishing to donate money or memorabilia to LZ Arielle may contact Frank Schaffer (616.866.6476).

He thanked potential donors, saying, "I'd appreciate it if anybody has memorabilia for Vietnam and they'd like to donate it."

LZ Arielle is a unique memorial that is helping multitudes of people understand more about the Vietnam Conflict.

More information about the LZ Arielle Vietnam Veterans' Display can be found by emailing lzarielle@aol.com.

Quilt of Tears:

The Quilt of Tears is another Vietnam memorial that is touring the nation. It was started by Jennie LeFevre in 1998, and passed on to Henry and Shelia Snyder in 2004. Henry Snyder served in Vietnam from 1968 - 1969 as a heavy equipment operator.

Since it originated in 1998, the Quilt of Tears has been around the nation on six tours. It has traveled to states such as California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, and Texas.

Mr. Snyder described the Quilt as, "a traveling memorial to the Agent Orange victims."

In fact, it is a large tent filled with three rows of quilts. According to Mr. Snyder, there are 24 quilts with 20 squares each. He explained, "Each square represents one person or a group. We also accept patriot squares."

The Quilt is continually growing. Henry Snyder detailed the requirements necessary for a soldier to be on the quilt.

"To be on here, they either have to be deceased from the effects of Agent Orange, or sick with one of the illnesses caused by Agent Orange. The families make them a square and mail them to my wife and I. After we get twenty squares we put them into a quilt."

Agent Orange is a combination of chemicals that can cause life threatening diseases. According to Mr. Snyder, "It is like weed killer, but at a lesser degree."

The purpose of it was to destroy the bushes, trees, and grass in the fields of Vietnam. Enemies would hide there, so the American troops used it to discover their location. He noted that a tree that was sprayed with Agent Orange would die within two days.

"The main use was to kill foliage. It wasn't meant to kill people," said Mr. Snyder, remorsefully.

Unfortunately, the government did not consider the long term effects. Mr. Snyder said, "I wish the government would have done a lot more studies on the long term effects, [but] they had the right idea, and most of the veterans don't condemn them for using it, because it helped us."

Henry Snyder hopes that the Quilt of Tears memorial will help educate people about the disease. He said, "The purpose of the memorial is to raise awareness of Agent Orange."

The Snyder's would also like to raise awareness about the forgotten victims. The soldiers who died in Vietnam are recognized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Moving Wall; but those who survived the Conflict, only to die in America due to the effects of the war, are ignored.

Shelia Snyder pleaded, "These guys are dying everyday, and there's no government memorial for these guys."

The governmental neglect is relayed to the general public. According to Mrs. Snyder, "It seems like the common public doesn't know anything about this - especially younger generations."

"At what point do you learn from the past? If you forget all these lessons you don't have a very bright future. History kind of repeats itself unless there's information put out there and people know about these guys," said Mrs. Snyder.

In the past, public schools have not taught much about Vietnam, and even less about Agent Orange.

"You're not going to learn this stuff in any books in school," said Shelia Snyder.

Additionally, the Veterans Administration (VA) system is struggling. Mrs. Snyder noted, "Just getting into the VA system is a handful. It's an old system that's overwhelmed and needs help...It seems like if you watch the news they're closing down another VA Hospital, instead of opening one up."

"Freedom is not free," said Mrs. Snyder, and clearly these victims are still suffering.

The Vietnam Conflict has permanently changed the lives of countless soldiers. "Vietnam is still killing them," said Mrs. Snyder, "It's been brutal since they came home."

The Conflict was horrible for these veterans, but it has past. The worst should be behind them, not in front of them. The Quilt of Tears memorial works to recognize these soldiers, but that is not enough. The government should recognize Agent Orange victims as well; and people should respect them.

"Make the time, make the effort, change things," urges Mrs. Snyder.

More information about the Agent Orange victims can be found at www.agentorangequiltoftears.com.

Conclusion:

The Vietnam Conflict changed this nation forever, as the memorials testify to, but the government, citizens, and veterans are taking strides in the right direction. To do that, though, the awful memories and experiences of these veterans cannot be ignored. These are the sad stories, but they must be known.