Memorial brings tragic war to life
“The Vietnam War took a horrific toll on our country,” Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston said during The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall memorial service Friday, October 4. “It was unpleasant. It was ugly. Many of us lived through those times and it was a chapter of our history that we might prefer to forget because it is human nature to want to forget the bad, and the painful, and the tragic. But this lesson is still true, that those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”
The wall, an exact replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was displayed in Blue Ridge from Thursday, October 3 to Monday, October 7.
Vietnam War Veteran George Nelson told those in attendance that the United States government was responsible for “losing the war” and discussed a lack of support for veterans during and following it.
“It had nothing to do with any of these people (Vietnam casualties) up here,” he said motioning to the wall. “Congress was so split that there weren’t enough folks to make this war a Declaration of War. The big deal is, when Congress puts out a Declaration of War, they know they have to support it. We can have a few that want to talk negatively about it, but basically they’ve got skin in the game when they pass the bill.
“The war lasted (over 19 years) without a Declaration of War. All that time, we had a Congress that did not back the Vietnam veterans the way they should have been. It’s something that had never happened in the country.”
Ralston echoed that sentiment.
“A million American service members returned to their native soil and they did not receive a hero’s welcome,” Ralston said. “In fact, they were taunted, insulted and even spat on. … Our soldiers weren’t looking for a parade, but they were certainly looking for basic human support and help in readjusting to basic civilian life after this really horrible war. They were looking for respect and we failed on that account. The truth is we failed our duty to those who served in Vietnam on a national scale.
“They returned to a nation divided because we confused our patriotism with politics. We had forgotten that lesson that politics should stop at the water’s edge and when we send men and women to fight and die for this nation, we do so with a solemn and sacred obligation.”
Georgia State Senator Steve Gooch discussed the impact the war had on Georgia and Fannin County veterans.
“Throughout the 19 years, five months, four weeks and one day of the Vietnam War, American soldiers, many of them barely out of high school, endured some of the most austere and unrelenting conditions of any American conflict,” he said. “According to the U.S. archives, 1,581 Georgians were confirmed to have lost their lives in the Vietnam War with many others returning home with both visible and invisible wounds. The fates of so many others remain uncertain and are forever remembered in our hearts and minds and honored through the flying of the POW MIA flag.
“Here in Fannin County, we actually have more veterans of the Vietnam War than any other conflict in history. There are nearly 1,000 veterans who call Fannin County home and we owe it to those who are with us to acknowledge them for their service and their sacrifice to our country.”
Ralston left the crowd with one thought, “As we look at this wall, let us be reminded that the only reason we are able to gather here as one nation, under God, is because free men and women will answer the call to defend this country and our way of life. The men and women whose names are on this wall didn’t make the decision to go to war, they didn’t plot the strategy, they didn’t decide upon the tactics. They did what soldiers do. They carried out their orders.”
The ceremony recognized six Fannin County Vietnam heroes in the “Keepsake Memorial Booklet.” They are Leslie Howard Cantrell, Jewell Robert Green, David Mack Herendon, Jeppie Joseph Payne, Donald Wayne Queen and John Arthur Swords.
“It’s just unbelievable … all my friends and all the names up there,” Nelson said. “I just want to tell you, everybody on that wall was a great American.”