Three-thousand-ninety-four men, and one woman from Ohio, died in the Vietnam War. A wall was erected.
Veterans from that war, WWII, Korea, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, paid tribute.
In their words…
Vietnam infantry veteran, John Carroll, of the Portage Lakes.
“This wall is to pay homage to our fallen comrades. It is for all people who served. They all did their part whether they were infantry or cooks. Everybody served hard.”
“It is hard for me to talk about,” Carroll said as he looked down. “There are times I don’t want to remember. Sometimes it feels good.”
He, along with 7,000 other veterans, traveled great distances, by motorcycle, through Canal Fulton for the unveiling of a wall that was long overdue. “This is for my fallen friends. Members of my team are on that wall.”
“Many of us had a hard time coming back and adjusting, drugs and different things,” Carroll explained. “Life itself. Not being sure of what really happened. It was real. It happened. I know that. Well, a lot more of these men suffered much more than I ever had,” he said as he looked over the crowd of bikers.”
Carroll used to do military escorts, before he was in the war. “We buried a lot of people from infantry. I escorted a lot of military funerals, but after I got out, all I wanted to do was forget. This is not about me. This is about all of these people.”
Rich Tindell, Vietnam Veteran, from Beaver Falls Pennsylvania, paid tribute.
“We are all brothers. We have a bond since we came back home. We all have that same feeling. How we were treated since we’ve been home. We all bonded together. This is personal to me. We are here to support the people on that wall. We ride for them. We ride because they can’t.”
Steve Martin, Vietnam Veteran, also from Beaver Falls, stated. “They gave us the freedom to be here.”
“This is a pride for my brothers who are not here anymore,” Vietnam Veteran, John Woods stated. “I look to the ones who didn’t come back.”
Vietnam Veteran, Robert Givens, helped to unveil the wall. “There is a friend of mine on that wall. That flag,” he stated as he pointed to the POW/MIA flag, “That is how I feel.”
Bikes filed into Memorial Park in Clinton. A sea of pride and honor filled the grounds. Men and women who gave us the country we now live in, respectfully listened as a speaker from each war addressed them.
Robert Frey, Canal Fulton, Retired Captain, WWII Veteran, 413th stationed in Europe said, “I salute all the Vietnam military units. They did what our country asked them to do and I honor them.”
“At a time like this, I think of three things,” he continued, “First, I think of all the men and women soldiers who did not come home.”
Frey picked up 109 bodies in his own battalion. “Some of them were my friends. It became personal. Secondly, I think of those who came back maimed.”
“Third, I think of survivors,” he stated as one. “I don’t know why I am a survivor. I was exposed to a lot to enemy fire. All I can say is, ‘I’m grateful.’”
Sergeant First Class Geoffrey King, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom said. “I see grown men and women who only remember their father as a picture, a name and a story, a tear in their mother’s eye, a man they never met. These men and women will not be forgotten and their names will not fade from history.”
“To all the Vietnam Veterans,” he added. “I want to say thank you. Thank you for doing your duty with honor. Thank you for your sacrifices, for serving your country, and Welcome Home!”
Behind every war hero is a Gold Star mother or father. Edie Deyarmin’s son, Lance Corporal Daniel Nathan Deyarmin Jr., U.S. Marine Corp, died in the Iraq war on Aug 1, 2005 from sniper fire during an ambush. His mother spoke. “I know it gives me comfort knowing that our sacrifices have not been forgotten along with our child’s memory.”
Overlooking Ohio’s Memorial Wall stands a statue of a Gold Star Mother, holding a flag. “When I saw the face only, it told me a lot,” Deyarmin stated. “When that flag is handed to a mother, that day their child is buried, you have a numbness inside you and an unclarity of what your future is. I had always been a proud mother. It didn’t’ take my son going to Iraq to be proud of him or him to be my hero.”
Deyarmin received honor from the military at her son’s death. Many Vietnam War moms did not.
Deyarmin shares one woman’s story. “She had the knock, knock on her door. There was a postcard stating that she had lost a son. No explanation or anyone to speak with.”
Proper recognition was given as three Gold Star Mothers unveiled the granite statue. Deyarmin, Vera Spring, who lost her son, Bruce, in 1970 to the Vietnam War, and Julia Barkey, mother of Michael, who died in Iraq, did the honors.
Aultman nurse, Sharon Lane, was also honored. She was the only woman from Ohio who was killed in Vietnam. Lane volunteered to work in the Vietnamese ward. “A ward not many wanted to work on,” Patricia Powell, president of her memorial chapter, stated.
A rocket was fired, hitting her ward, and killing her instantly.
Lane’s mother and other family, stood and were honored for their sacrifice.
Dogs and their handlers were honored. Vietnam Veteran and author, John Burnam spoke of his experiences combing through the thick jungles with trained dogs. His book, Soldier’s Best Friend is about to become a major motion picture. Thirteen dog handlers are on the wall.
Because of their unique sniffing, hearing, and seeing ability, dogs and their handlers, were able to detect unseen danger. The trained team became the point man, the head of the spear.
"Together, they strived valiantly, as a team, defending their ground because they knew…the glory was victory for saving American lives and the price of freedom,” Burnam stated.
No man left without his dog and no dog left without his master. They pulled their handler to safety, “under a hail of bullets and explosions,” he explained.
Major General J. Mechenbier, retired, Air Force, knows what it was like to be in a storm of bullets and left for 2,076 days or 5 years, 8 months, and 4 days, as he was held captive in a POW camp. He earned two purple hearts and four other honors.
He spoke of the benefits of living in this country. “If you enjoy living a lifestyle envied by all. Look left. Look right. Thank a Vet”
“We were attacked in our own land where the target was innocent civilians,” he continued. “Look at the American flag. “A symbol. An emblem. It’s our nation. That flag was born of and preserved by the work and the sacrifices of people.”
“I salute you!” he exclaimed. “To each and every one of you, you are not Forgotten!”
