By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
It was a confusing, painful era in American history, The Vietnam War. Protests in the streets with people who had long hair and wore a new radical clothing style happened on a regular basis. It was a time of change as our nation was going into her adolescence and our young men were being drafted to serve in a war that left the nation scarred.
Children were confused with the ripping of the nation. In their classrooms they learned of past wars and war heroes. At home they watched their TV sets and viewed the animosity towards the ongoing war. Whispers of a friend’s brother who didn’t make it back home were heard, or there was another friend’s brother who came home and was not the same person.
Songwriters created music to demonstrate their frustration with the war.
Our nation was scarred. At the time, it felt like it would never heal from the wound.
Part of healing from a war is building a memorial for those who were lost in service to our nation.
Creating a memorial for US Military men and woman who lost their lives in Vietnam was granted to Maya Lin, whose own parents were immigrants from China. She was born in Ohio and was a student at Yale.
There was some angst regarding her vision for a memorial because it was radically different from all other war memorials.
Lin created a memorial that symbolized a scarred nation: a long wall that slopes like a mountain. The names of all the US Military personnel who died in Vietnam were etched into the black granite.
As visitors look through the 58,318 names, they see a reflection of themselves, which was part of Lin’s intention. The granite was polished to a high shine. It was a way to connect the living with the dead.
In honor of July 4, Texas City has played host to the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall. The arrival of the wall was celebrated with a convoy of motorcyclists, police officers and Veterans. The wall arrived at Mainland City Centre in Texas City on June 28 and will remain until Tuesday, July 5.
The first day was a gathering of Vietnam Veterans, family members and other supporters who came out to honor the Vietnam Veterans, some of whom had not met before. Colors were posted by Dickinson VFW chapter.
MaLisa Sickmiller remembers her brother, John Joseph Hernandez, serving in Vietnam. “I was in high school and wrote a letter to him every day. He was my big brother. We would all gather in front of the television and watch the news to learn of the war,” said Sickmiller.
A Vietnam Veteran and motorcyclist who goes by the name of Flipper had no confusion about his time in Vietnam. “I grew up believing it was a young man’s duty to serve his nation. I was proud to serve,” said Flipper.
Another Veteran expressed the malcontent of the era, “Basically it was an illegal war, and John Wayne was not in Vietnam,” said an Air Force Veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam.
Veteran Jerry Withers shared, “I’m blessed to be here. Every day I wake up is a good day having served in Vietnam I am just blessed to be here,”
Another Vietnam veteran told stories of the tunnels that the Viet Cong had built and how the US military had to learn warfare on the terms of the Viet Cong.
Kenneth Garth, a resident of Dickinson, remembers his brother had to return from service before he was drafted. “It was a rule: only one son could be at the war at a time, so when my brother was discharged, I was drafted,” said Garth.
Steven Littleton, Jr. has become an advocate for homeless veterans and uses humor to see himself through the rough times of coping with the scars of the war.
“I didn’t want to go to the military, I was the oldest of seven kids and my dad had just passed away on February 9, 1970. I was sworn into the military on April 7, 1970,” said Ernest Mathews.
Mathews was in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam and now serves as the President of Galveston County’s Vietnam War Veterans of America chapter 685. He and his wife Gina were instrumental in bringing the wall to Texas City.
“The first time I visited the Wall in D.C., I could only stay for ten minutes, it was too much. I had to leave,” said Mathews, “I’ve had a great life, I was injured in Vietnam, but I’ve lived a great life with a great wife,” he added.
Though the veterans have seen and experienced beyond what the average person will ever know, they were all in good spirits and shared a bond with each other that only they understood. Every one of them was very honored to see the traveling memorial in Galveston County for the first time.
The wall was assembled by volunteers and by sunset of the first day visitors were drawn into the area as they sought out names of people who they knew. Included in the display were tributes with names of all the military personnel lost in more recent wars such as in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Michael Sabtier found his brother Charles Sabtier’s name on the wall.
Day 2, Wednesday, June 29
It was time for placing the mother’s and the MIA (missing in action) wreaths in front of the wall. The parents of Omar Mora were selected to place the mother’s wreath. As a Gold Star family, they lost their son at the age of 28 while he was serving our nation in Iraq. His daughter is now 20.
“He is always in our hearts,” said his mother. “We are so honored that the Veterans’ chapters of our city remember our son, they never forget him,” said his father. Omar was from Texas City, and his grandmother was also at the ceremony.
The MIA wreath was placed by Wade Johnson, who served in Iraq. He was presumed dead three times. Once he was in a body bag and thankfully, he began moving before his body was sent home on a plane.
Day 3, Thursday, June 30
“We’ve had a steady flow of people coming to see the wall every day,” said Mathews.
As the sun is setting, Texas City Mayor Dedrick Johnson, Sr. and Texas City Commissioner DeAndre Knoxson arrived to pay their respects to the fallen soldiers.
Wall watchers have been tending the wall 24/7. Their primary role is to assist visitors find names on the wall. There is a book of names that lists the military branch, rank of the fallen solider and where on the wall the name is listed.
David Hall from Santa Fe, who served in the Marines, is donating many hours as a wall watcher. “I loved being a Marine. It was my life, and I am glad to be here to help people. Many of them find closure as they read their loved ones’ name,” said Hall.
Names on the wall are listed in the order in which each one lost their life. At the top of the panel where the right angle occurs in the wall is the name of the first solider lost in Vietnam. The last soldier lost in Vietnam is listed at the bottom of the panel opposite the other panel.
The Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall display is free and open to all who wish to experience the compelling force of facing the names of those who gave their all for our nation’s freedom.
Thanks to a change of plans the wall will remain through all of July 4..
