News-Info-Alerts

Re: The Traveling Tribute

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Date: May 27, 2002

"Vietnam Wall gets top effort from area
By ADAM JACKSON
Tribune Staff Writer

The names of the 58,226 men and women who died in the Vietnam War are inscribed on a scale replica of the famous Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The replica, which is 80 percent the size of the original, will be open to the public all weekend at Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac.
Ron Timmons, left, of Niles, and Larry O'Connor, of Coloma, help to put the panels in place as the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall, a part of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, is erected at Southwestern Michigan College Thursday. Both are veterans and members of the Peninsular Lodge No. 10 Free and Accepted Masons, of Dowagiac, which organized the wall's visit to Dowagiac.

Tribune Photo/SHAYNA BRESLIN


DOWAGIAC -- There are 58,226 names.

Enough names to fill the telephone book of a city. Enough, when carved into 44 black granite panels, to stretch nearly 400 feet across a wind-swept parking lot at Southwestern Michigan College.

And enough to make Don Pennington vow that, if he can help it, no one will ever forget the 58,226 men and women who died for their country in the cities, rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.

"I've got a best friend whose name is up there," the retired telephone worker said, gesturing to the portable 80-percent scale replica of the famous Washington, D.C., Vietnam Veterans Memorial that will be open to the public through Memorial Day on the SMC campus. "That's why I volunteer to drive it from place to place."

The wall is part of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute (AVTT), a non- profit organization that travels around the country paying homage to all American veterans, with an emphasis on those who fought in Vietnam.

The exhibit also includes the world's largest POW-MIA flag, as well as a bronze replica of a memorial to women who served in Vietnam and a computer system that allows visitors to locate individual names, which are listed by date of casualty, on the memorial.

But while the AVTT is a not-for-profit organization, the size of the exhibit, preparation costs, and travel expenses mean that a community wishing to play host to the display needs close to $10,000 in funding.

Dave Groner, a local businessman who chaired the committee to bring the AVTT to Dowagiac, said local service organizations, businesses, charities and individuals responded enthusiastically to the call for cash.

"When we heard we would have this opportunity, everybody just started working together to make it happen," he said, noting that the original idea spawned from the members of Dowagiac Peninsular Lodge No. 10 of Free and Accepted Masons.



Schedule of events

The public is invited to visit the American Veterans Traveling Tribute at Southwestern Michigan College all weekend. The exhibit, which features a scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall as its centerpiece, can be viewed free of charge from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today through Monday. Special events scheduled for the exhibit include an opening ceremony at the exhibit at 10 a.m. Saturday, a memorial service held in the SMC Lyons Building at 6 p.m. Monday, and a closing ceremony to be held at the exhibit at 7 p.m. Monday.
All times are EDT.


"It is truly a community-wide, countywide project."

Which is not surprising, considering the number of lives touched by those names etched in the panels. It seems that nearly everyone has a connection to someone honored by the memorial, whether it was one of the 20 young Cass County men lost during the Vietnam War or someone from another place entirely.

"One of my classmates' names is up there," said Jim Benedix, a local resident who came to help erect the memorial Thursday afternoon. "Volunteering for this is the least I could do."

The traveling Vietnam Wall made other area stops in September 2000 in Sturgis and in September 1999 in Berrien Springs.

During a sneak preview of the exhibit Thursday night, local business people, politicians and members of various service agencies were given a chance to examine the exhibit before it opens to the public today at 8 a.m. EDT.

And while many after-hours business get-togethers are festive occasions, Thursday night's visitors seemed quiet and reflective as they perused the memorial and an exhibit of Vietnam War relics housed in the SMC museum.

To SMC President David Mathews, that mood was an appropriate show of respect to those honored on the Wall.

"I didn't want it to be a party tonight," he said.

Mathews, himself a retired member of the Army's elite Green Berets, said he was honored SMC was able to play host to the exhibit, which he said brought two thoughts to his mind when he viewed it.

"First, I think of how lucky I was to return from my military service unharmed," he said. "But I also think of the people who never returned, who are still missing in action."

Another person who had the opportunity to visit the exhibit Thursday was Bob Brackenridge, a former state representative who is one of the GOP candidates for the District 21 state Senate seat. He said he was honored to have the opportunity to pay tribute to those listed on the Wall.

Not to mention the chance to visit an old friend.

"A very close friend of mine, who I used to double-date with, never came home from Vietnam," he said. "I found his name up there, and I'll never forget the sacrifice he made."

That, Pennington said, is the No. 1 reason for the memorial.

"I meet a lot of great people taking this exhibit around, and I hope that they always remember what this means," he said. "On that Wall are 58,226 reasons to never forget."

Staff writer Adam Jackson ajackson@sbtinfo.com (616) 687-7001 "