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Friends and family members gather at the In Memory Memorial Plaque to place white roses and share memories of loved ones. The plaque dedicated last night near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors veterans who died from cancer and other ailments associated with their service in that war. Fredericksburg resident Ruth Coder Fitzgerald was the driving force behind the memorial.
City resident Ruth Coder Fitzgerald pushed for the In Memory Memorial to honor her brother and others who died from ailments resulting from their service in Vietnam. |
WASHINGTON--With the somber sounds of a bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace" and the area gently lit by more than 200 glow sticks, friends and family last night called out the names of loved ones who had returned from the Vietnam War only to die a premature death.
David Hannah.
Max Gordon.
Bill Baker.
J.D.
Popeye.
Alice Ulmet couldn't call out her father's name. Sobs came instead.
The 23-year-old and her mother, Pam Ulmet, drove from Williamsburg to Washington for last night's dedication of the Vietnam In Memory Memorial Plaque. The 2- by 3-foot granite marker was officially unveiled in July, but dedicated at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the eve of the day the nation sets aside to remember its veterans.
Oliver Ulmet died five years ago of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, one of the cancers attributed to the defoliant Agent Orange. Ulmet had been an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam, where Agent Orange was used to kill the undergrowth to expose enemy forces.
In 1993, members of families like the Ulmets started gathering each Memorial Day and Veterans Day to read the names of loved ones who served in the Vietnam War, but whose deaths didn't qualify them to be on the famous black granite wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Now those families have a permanent reminder of their loved ones and their sacrifices.
The plaque, which cost about $135,000, sits near The Three Servicemen statue. It bears a simple inscription: "In memory of the men and women who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service. We honor and remember their sacrifice."
The memorial is the result of a grass-roots campaign started in 1995 by Fredericksburg resident Ruth Coder Fitzgerald. Her efforts were spurred by her brother's death from non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1992, when he was 49.
John Keath Coder was an Air Force helicopter pilot who flew rescue and recovery operations in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is just one cancer linked to Agent Orange. Many post-service deaths also were attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Fitzgerald founded Vietnam War In Memory Memorial, a nonprofit group that pushed for approval of the plaque. Her efforts started with support from Fredericksburg-area residents and groups such as the Vietnam Veterans of America chapters in Culpeper and Woodbridge.
Help then came from state Sen. Linda "Toddy" Puller, whose husband, Lewis Puller Jr., committed suicide after returning from the war with devastating injuries.
Puller helped garner the support of Virginia legislators. Next came backing from Virginia's congressional delegation. By Memorial Day 2000, Fitzgerald had approval from both houses of Congress, and President Clinton signed the plaque into law a month later.
In remarks last night, Fitzgerald noted that the dedication came exactly five years after the day the bill was introduced in Congress. She said she hopes the memorial will bring some measure of comfort to the families and friends of those who died.
"It will remind them that their loved ones are not forgotten and that they themselves are not alone in their grief," she said. "It will be seen by millions as time goes by and will give families a place to mourn with others."
Robert Karotko of the National Park Service said last night that 60 million people have visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial since its dedication.
Between 200 and 250 people attended last night's ceremony. Most received white roses from The Enchanted Florist in North Stafford, and many family members gently laid the roses atop the plaque when the service ended.
Pam Ulmet called the new memorial "wonderful." "We've been waiting for it for a long time," her daughter added.
Last night's 40-minute dedication was a night of traditional military ceremony--with the presentation of colors, the national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance and closing with "Taps."
Thomas Buckley, husband of the late Lynda Van Devanter Buckley, struggled with his emotions as he spoke of her long battle with one physical malady after another--all believed to stem from her exposure to dioxins while an Army nurse in Vietnam.
The Herndon woman was a staunch advocate for female veterans, and her 1983 memoir, "Home Before Morning," inspired the television show "China Beach."
Thomas Corey, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, spoke from his wheelchair.
"Tonight, we finally acknowledge our veterans who returned home and found out years later their health had been compromised," he said.
Then, referring to the nearby wall where more than 58,000 names are inscribed, he added: "The spirit of these men and women who served together now rest together."
To reach PAMELA GOULD: 540/657-9101 pgould@freelancestar.com
