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The Price of Freedom Is Written On The 'Wall'
Opening ceremonies were held last Wednesday Oct 25th, 2008 in Lake Havasu City, Az for the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, a replica of the Vietnam Veteran's War Memorial in Washington, D.C. An estimated 700 people attended the blessing of the Wall, a "Missing Man Table" ceremony, and the placing of two wreaths by the Blue Star Mothers.
The closing ceremonies concluded this past Sunday and an estimated 20,000 people had attended the five day event to honor our military service men and women.
The replica Wall, which spans more than 370 feet and stands over 8 feet tall.
I never knew such a 'wall' existed much less that it made stops all over the country. I had seen the event listed in the paper and figured I would venture down to the lake just to see what this 'wall' was all about. I was a bit of a skeptic because I just could not picture in my mind what a mobile memorial wall looked like so I really didn't give it that much thought. That was until my partner asked me to go see it. He's not spoken much about his days fighting in Vietnam and we rarely speak about the 'war' so when he asked me to go see it I knew it had to mean something important to him. I figured I would wait a couple of days before I went. The days leading up to the visit played alot in my mind. All I thought about were the names of Vallance Galen Arkie (Vance), Russell Duane Crider (Rusty), and Robert Lee Flores (Bobby or Lee). These are the names of our military heroes who were a large part of Parker High who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
I knew I had to find their names on the 'wall' thinking that if I touched their name they would know that I apologize for the hell they had endured. I wanted them to know that we truly care about the Vietnam Veterans even though they weren't shown the respect they should have been given back then. That part I will never get over as long as I live.
We must always separate the War from the Warrior.
I finally made it down to Windsor Beach where the Wall was being displayed. As I walked closer to the Wall I was so overwhelmed with the view. It brought tears to my eyes when the flyer said there were 58,253 names listed on the Wall.
A man sitting in a chair, who appeared to be homeless, was playing military hymns from his saxophone.
It took awhile but I finally found our boys. I touched their names and said 'hello' and wished them peace and said 'thanks for all you've done.' Somehow I sensed they knew why I was there.
Lake Havasu City is under consideration as a permanent home for the traveling Wall upon its retirement.
“It is my dream — because I believe we should have a West Coast (veterans) Wall. Not everybody can go to Washington, D.C., and not everybody wants to, the East Coast is 3,000 miles away. I’m a West Coast guy. My dream is to have a West Coast Wall,” Doty said. “I haven’t seen a better place yet, but I don’t know when that would happen.”
Doty and Don Allen, owners of the traveling veteran exhibits, have not yet determined a retirement date for the Wall.
During the 2007 Homecoming Tea we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to honor these three veterans. It would be a beginning to a yearly event honoring each and every veteran that came out of Parker High. 'Lee' Flores was our inaugural honoree and was a huge success with his entire family in attendance. Betty, Lee's mother said she was surprised but really happy that her son was honored this way 40 years later. Honoring our military service men and women should never be political and hope the tradition to honor our fallen and surviving veterans continues again at some point.
American veterans are the reason we continue to enjoy Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and all of the other Rights and Freedoms enjoyed under the United States Constitution. We honor you and thank you for your service.
I hope you enjoy the photos.
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Vallance Galen Arkie - Sept 1967
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Robert Lee Flores - Dec, 1967
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Russell Duane Crider - May, 1968
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"Cost of Freedom" Iraq War Casualties
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