Wall of Remembrance Visits Roswell
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Images of the mobile Vietnam Memorial Wall that was in Roswell over July 4 weekend. |
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By Jonathan Copsey/ STAFF
Housed in the scenic and solemn Green Lawn Cemetery in Roswell, the mobile Vietnam Wall was the center of numerous ceremonies over the weekend. The events held an elevated level of poignancy as they coincided with the July 4 weekend. It is fitting that a monument dedicated to those who gave their lives in an unpopular war was viewed on the holiday dedicated to the independence guaranteed by such sacrifices. 1,582 Georgians died in Vietnam.
The opening ceremony of the wall took place at 10 a.m. on July 4 with numerous honored guests and speakers. Mayor Jere Wood of Roswell, Congressman Tom Price, the post commanders of the local American Legion as well as many others gave speeches about the virtues of serving one’s country, the honor demanded of those who die in their service and the sorrow and emotion felt when loved ones are killed in the line of duty.
“This three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was created as a service for those who may never have the opportunity to visit our nations’ capital to experience the wall firsthand,” explained Tony Papel, the manager of the Green Lawn Cemetery, to the audience of several hundred people who chose to spend their morning in the hot July sun on their day off.
The elected officials came next, preceding the soldiers in their comments.
“Thank you for coming out on this Independence Day to honor those heroes who have defended our independence and our liberties,” said Wood before he read a proclamation declaring the weekend as a special commemorative weekend just for the Wall.
“From Valley Forge to Gettysburg, to Omaha Beach to the Tet Offensive to Baghdad, every generation of Americans has risen to the occasion and fulfilled their responsibility to proclaim and ensure our continued existence,” said Price. “None of this would have been possible without the supreme sacrifice of so many.”
Perhaps the most moving part of the morning was when Gene Altman, a Vietnam veteran and Patriot Guard state captain, came forward to recount his memories of his time in Asia.
“In 1970, the mayor of Macon, Georgia, Ronnie Thompson, went to Vietnam on a fact finding tour for the state department. He carried with him five Georgia flags and when he found one of the Georgia homeboys, he gave them a flag. And these soldiers took this flag, cut a limb from a tree, and attach the flag to it, stick the limb down in the sandbags. And that was part of home that was for the Georgia boys and any new soldier who came in. They would see that Georgia flag on the bunker and they knew that it was friendly. They knew that was ‘back home.’
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The mobile Vietnam Memorial wall entered Roswell on a tractor-trailer (above) and accompanied by a motorcade of motorcycles (bottom, right). |
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“I went over there and I met the lieutenant and heard the story of the flag and found out it was the only one there... . When the lieutenant left, he handed me this Georgia flag and this Georgia flag became my friend… when you stopped at night you would dig a foxhole. Once you get the foxhole dug, then you would eat… [the nights would get cold] but the three men I was with we had the Georgia flag. I would take that Georgia flag and lay it across our shoulders to stay warm. For me it was a comfort from home. Every morning, when the sun would break, I would fold that flag up and put it in my rucksack and we would tote it all day and at night time when the chill came we would get that flag out.”
When the visibly emotional Altman had returned from Vietnam, there were no other Georgians to give the flag to so he kept it, and he still has it to this day. It’s the only one of the five to make it back.
“This Georgia flag is the only one to come home,” he said, unfurling the flag that was used until recently by the state of Georgia. “It’s soiled, it’s tattered and it’s torn. Just like our Vietnam veterans. We’re soiled from our experiences. Many are tattered. Many are still suffering flashbacks, nightmares, cold chills in the middle of the night, night sweats, broken marriages, confused children. They are tattered and they are torn. This flag is used, but just like our Vietnam veterans, it’s not used up. This flag is worn… but just like our Vietnam veterans it is not worn out.”
The Wall is no longer in Roswell, having already moved on to another town. Hopefully the citizens of North Fulton who wished to had a chance to see the Wall. It was likely an experience they will never forget.