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Vietnam War Navy veteran Dave Varisco pauses to reflect in front of the names of some of the fallen from that war. He participated in an opening ceremony today for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall, which has been installed at Medina High School for this weekend.
(Ann Norman, special to cleveland.com )
MEDINA, Ohio -- Tom Huxley drove up from Wooster today to pay his respects to two old friends from high school.
He found their names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall, which has been set up this weekend on the lawn of Medina High School, at the corner of East Union Street and Weymouth Road.
Dennis C. Marshall's name can be found on Panel 7, Line 60. A few sections away, 2E, Line 40 carries the name of Mitchell L. "Midge" Anderson.
"I used to fold papers with Dennis Marshall when we delivered the Akron Beacon Journal when we were kids," Huxley said.
Both Marshall and Anderson were killed in action during the Vietnam War.
Vietnam War veteran Tom Huxley points to the name of his childhood friend, Dennis C. Marshall, on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall, which is visiting Medina this weekend. Marshall, of Wooster, was killed in action during the war.
"I came close to getting killed many times over there, and I watched close friends die," said Huxley, who served as a sergeant with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1970 and 1971.
"I went to Vietnam when I was age 20," he said. He served at a firebase called Weight-Davis south of Pleiku.
Huxley was among about 100 veterans, family members, local dignitaries and area residents who attended an opening ceremony for the Moving Wall earlier today.
Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell, Medina County Commissioner Adam Frederick and Rick Pethtel, commander of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 385, all spoke at the event.
Veterans laid a wreath at the wall, read a list of the 33 Medina County men who were killed in the war and presented a 21-gun salute. The service ended with a playing of "Taps" by veteran bugler Dave Lofy, a member of American Legion Post 202.
After the service, veterans, family members and others walked along the length of the wall, which is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Inside the school, commemorative panels created by the Medina County Veterans Service Office were set up to honor the county's fallen Vietnam War soldiers.
Visitors reacted in different ways. Some were solemn as they took in the names of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives. Parents explained the history of the war to their children. Others reminisced with fellow veterans and shared their memories of the war or loved ones lost.
Vietnam War veteran Tom Huxley, of Wooster, pays tribute to his fallen brothers in arms in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall in Medina today.
Dave Varisco, a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5137 who served in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Osborne during the war, quietly surveyed a section of the wall.
"It brings back some memories," he said, noting that he lost two shipmates in the war.
He said he was pleased that the Veterans Service Office and local veterans groups were able to bring the Moving Wall to Medina as part of their commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the war.
"It's really gratifying. I'm glad to see it," Varisco said.
Area veterans volunteered to guard the wall 24 hours a day during its stay in Medina and to act as guides to help people find specific names or make rubbings from the wall.
Catherine Owen is a retired Navy Reserve chief and a member of American Legion Post 234 in Brunswick. Her husband is a Vietnam veteran.
She volunteered to help with guarding the wall as a way to give back to the veterans.
"They died for us. The least I can do is stand here and guard this wall for them. It's an honor to do it," Owen said.
Veteran Dave Lofy plays "Taps" on his bugle at the end of today's opening ceremony welcoming the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall to Medina.
"I just had a group come by, and the veteran with them, he knew 15 guys who died on the same day. It hits you. It's just tough," she said.
Owen said the Moving Wall offers a sense of healing for many veterans, especially Vietnam veterans who came home to indifference at best, and disrespect and abuse at worst.
"It's a sore spot for many Vietnam veterans," she said.
In his remarks during the ceremony, Hanwell apologized on behalf of the city for the lack of welcome Vietnam veterans received when they came home from that unpopular war.
"We're changing that in Medina, and we're changing that across the country. You should not have been treated differently on your return," Hanwell said.
"We lost 33 members of our community. We owe a great debt of gratitude to all of you," he said.
In addition to helping bring the Moving Wall to Medina this summer, the city also is home to a permanent memorial to the county's Vietnam veterans. That memorial can be found off Northland Drive, adjacent to the Veterans Service Office.
Commissioner Frederick is himself a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and father to a daughter in the U.S. Air Force. He was born while his father was serving with the Marines in Vietnam in 1966.
A couple visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall in Medina peruse the names of the more than 50,000 soldiers who lost their lives in the war.
We live in a time when active duty soldiers and veterans are respected and even revered, Frederick said.
"But there was a time in our country's history when this wasn't the case. Men in my father's generation were no different than me or my children. (But) they were not given the respect they deserved," he said.
"That indifference, even contempt - it leaves a hole," Frederick said.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Moving Wall can help veterans heal, he said.
"What makes the memorial distinct, what makes it stand out, are the names. The individual names make it personal," he said.
The Moving Wall adds an extra dimension to that healing.
"The Moving Wall doesn't make the veterans come to the wall in D.C. The wall comes to you," Frederick said.
"It represents America coming to you, the veteran, and thanking you and welcoming you home," he said.
Veterans Service Officer Ed Zackery said the Moving Wall holds a personal meaning for each person who visits.
"Those 50,000 names represent hundreds of thousands of lives that were affected by their loss," he said.
Huxley first saw the Moving Wall when it came to Aurora back in 2000.
"It's something I'll never forget. So when I heard it was coming here, I really wanted to come here and pay respect and honor to my fellow brothers," he said.
He said he never used to wear his Vietnam veteran ball cap in public. But as the country has shifted toward expressing gratitude to all veterans and service members, he has begun to wear it proudly.
"Now when people see me in this hat, they look at me and say thank you. It means a lot to me," he said.
"The two most important words when you see a Vietnam veteran are 'thank you' or 'welcome home.' That's all you have to say," Huxley said.
"You can see us on the street, say those words and walk on without another word. We know what you mean, and it means the world to us," he said.