SCARS OF VIETNAM; WAR MEMORIAL MODEL BACK IN WESTLAKE VILLAGE.Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer What happened more than 20 years ago in a faraway land with names such as Pleiku, Chu Lai Chu Lai () was a United States Navy base in Dung Quat Bay, Vietnam, which was used from 1964 - 1971 during the Vietnam War. The base was roughly 56 miles southeast of Danang. , Mekong River Mekong River Chinese Lancang Jiang or Lan-Ts'ang Chiang Longest river of Southeast Asia. Rising in southern Qinghai province, China, it flows south through eastern Tibet and across the highlands of Yunnan province. Delta and Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, city (1997 pop. 5,250,000), on the right bank of the Saigon River, a tributary of the Dong Nai, Vietnam. usually remain in the dark recesses of the public's mind. Memories of the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. will come to light in Westlake Village on the Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. weekend with the display of a 240-foot, to-scale model of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vietnam Veterans Memorial, war memorial in Washington, D.C., built 1982. Designed by the American sculptor and architect Maya Ying Lin, it is a sloping, V-shaped, 493-ft (150-m) wall of highly polished black granite that descends 10 feet (3. Wall, which lists the names of 58,219 U.S. men and women who never came home alive from the war. ``First time I saw it, I saw all the names All the Names (Portuguese: Todos os nomes) is a novel by Portuguese author José Saramago. It was written in 1997 and published in English in 2000 in an award winning translation by Margaret Jull Costa. and thought what a waste,'' said Gary Rickards, 52, of Malibu, who served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 with the U.S. Army's Special Forces. ``Then I cried for a while.'' Rickards and other Vietnam veterans This article is about the French band. For veterans of the Vietnam War, see Vietnam veteran. The Vietnam Veterans were a six-person French psychedelic group that released six records in the 1980s. The band was praised by many alternative music publications. were at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park on Wednesday helping assemble the platform and the 48 granitelike panels of the smaller copy of the memorial at the National Mall National Mall: see National Parks and Monuments (table). in Washington, D.C. This is the second time the memorial's copy has been displayed in the Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by , said Lawrence W. Michael, Pierce Brothers' general manager and event coordinator. He said 100,000 came to see it when it was at Pierce Brothers in 1986. ``It's a very powerful experience,'' Michael said. ``I truly believe that it helps in the healing process. There are many Vietnam vets still struggling in the healing process.'' He said the war also left deep emotional wounds on wives, children, parents, siblings and close friends of those killed in Vietnam. Four computers will be set up to help visitors find names of those they loved and lost. Visitors type in a name, and the computer relays the portion of the wall where the listing appears. Michael said the model at Pierce Brothers is engraved en·grave tr.v. en·graved, en·grav·ing, en·graves 1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy. 2. , as is the monument in Washington, so people can make rubbings of names. Special paper will be handed out for that purpose. Reading aloud, more than 100 volunteers will take turns verbally tolling the names of Americans who were killed or died in captivity from 1959 to 1975 and are listed on the wall. The reading is expected to take 49 hours beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday and concluding at 8 p.m. Monday. Of the more than 100 names of Ventura County residents, six are from Thousand Oaks and five are from Simi Valley. By the height of the war in 1968, American troops in Vietnam numbered more than half a million. Although the Paris Accord was signed in 1973 ending the war, American troops didn't finish pulling out until 1975. Shortly afterward South Vietnam surrendered, North Vietnamese troops entered Saigon, which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Jim Britton, 54, was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps who served in Vietnam for 13 months and five days in 1966-67. He helps assemble a Memorial Wall replica each time one comes to Ventura County - four previous times. Again, Britton will put up panel 18E, which bears the name of his childhood friend, Cameron Keene, killed by friendly fire in 1972 during a river patrol. ``There are times when it gets to you,'' he said. Starting in the mid-1970s, family organizations distributed bracelets each identifying one of the Americans still missing in action in Southeast Asia. Britton said he wore a MIA MIA n. A member of the armed services who is reported missing following a combat mission and whose status as to injury, capture, or death is unknown. [m(issing) i(n) a(ction). bracelet for David Gonzales of Oxnard. Once when a scale model was in Ventura County, Britton helped escort a woman overcome with emotion to the wall. She led her escorts to her son's name, David Gonzales. Britton proudly gave the his MIA bracelet to the mother. ``There were people on the wall I knew,'' said Steven P. Weber, 47, of Newbury Park. He was an E-3 seaman in the Navy in 1973, assigned to clear Haiphong Harbor of mines. ``The wall in a way is like a traveling tombstone Tombstone, city (1990 pop. 1,220), Cochise co., SE Ariz.; inc. 1881. With its pleasant climate and legendary past, Tombstone is a well-known tourist attraction. The city became a national historic landmark in 1962. ,'' he said. ``It allows people to sit down and communicate, as you would with a family member who has passed away. It's part of the healing process and allows some point of closure.'' Shannon ``Irish'' Curtis, 50, of Thousand Oaks and three buddies from his hometown of Maine enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1969. ``Four of us went in,'' he said. ``Two of us came back, and two of us didn't.'' Curtis, who was a sergeant on the Marine's elite reconnaissance team, earned a Silver Star medal for rescuing 35 prisoners of war prisoners of war, in international law, persons captured by a belligerent while fighting in the military. International law includes rules on the treatment of prisoners of war but extends protection only to combatants. held captive in Laos. ``It took me a long time to go to the wall to be hard pressed or driven; to be the weaker party; to be pushed to extremes. See also: Wall ,'' said Curtis who first visited the traveling memorial about six years ago. ``I just didn't want to deal with it. ``When I finally saw the two guys' names from my hometown on the wall, it brought closure,'' said Curtis, who in the back of his mind had hoped his buddies got out alive, went to another country - that their names somehow just got harmlessly lost in a paperwork shuffle. Rickards, who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, doesn't talk about his experience there or the medals he earned. ``I don't heal,'' he said. ``It just stays there.'' WALL FACTS Will open today and continue for 24-hour public viewing through Monday. Opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. today. Closing candlelight ceremony at 8 p.m. Monday. Vietnam veterans will be on hand to guide visitors throughout the weekend. Location: Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) no caption (The Wall) (2--Color) At Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, volunteers work Wednesday to set up panels of a smaller-scale model of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. (3--Color) Vietnam War veteran John Hoos feels engraved names of war dead. (4) In Westlake Village, Vietnam War veteran Kenn Lewis helps assemble a 240-foot model of the Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Evan Yee/Daily News BOX: WALL FACTS (See text) |
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