VietNow National Magazine

Less-Than-Famous War Memorials
LZ Peace Memorial
Rockford, Illlinois

Story and photos by Ken Nelson – VietNow Contributing Editor

In front of the LZ Peace Memorial wall, Paul Cassioppi, Tony Circelli, Tony Bove, and VietNow Founder Nick Parnello.

Steve Lee, Tom Glawe, Ronnie Hawks, Richard Hawks, and Wally Patterson.
I hadn’t thought of some of these kids for years. We had all gone to Whig Hill School here in Rockford, Illinois. We had all fished the same creek, climbed the same trees, ridden the same school bus. On a hot Memorial Day weekend we were together again.

My friend Steven Franklin and I went to the Memorial Day ceremony at Midway Village. It was the day of the dedication of the LZ Peace Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Steve and I have been friends since first grade and knew all the same people. I went to the dedication for a lot of different reasons. To be with Nick Parnello and Tony Bove. To see the wall. To look inside the helicopter. To take pictures. To visit childhood friends one more time.

What I saw took me back nearly 50 years. When I was a kid, we went to Pittsburgh one weekend. Our uncle Johnny had died and we went to his funeral. I was 10 and my brother Chris was 12. It was a really strange experience because neither of us had ever seen a dead person or been to a funeral.

After the funeral we went back to our Grandpa and Grandma’s house. They lived in a big old house with a back yard that went almost straight up one of those Pittsburgh hills. My brother and I walked around drinking orange soda pop. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Eating, laughing, telling stories, seeing relatives and old friends. It was like a big party. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

I was confused and said, “Mama, how come nobody’s crying anymore. No one seems sad. I thought they’d be crying all day.” She bent down and whispered, “It’s OK, honey. We’re all still sad but this is a celebration of Johnny’s life. All these people are his family and friends. They liked Johnny. A lot of them haven’t seen each other for a long time. I haven’t seen most of them since I moved away from here and married Papa.”

Mama continued, “Everyone cried when Johnny died, everyone is happy because Johnny lived. He loved us and we loved him. When we were little, everyone liked Johnny. All these people have good memories of him. Johnny lives in all these people.”

At LZ Peace some people were touching the wall, and others were looking at the helicopter. Others were talking with old friends and Army buddies. I can’t tell you how many times I heard, “Hey, do you remember when…” Or, “What the heck ever happened to…?” It went on and on. A big celebration of 72 lives.

One day they were just kids fishing down at the creek, and the next thing you know they were being drafted and sent to war. Fifty years ago we were all young boys running around having fun. Fast-forward 50 years and here we are again walking a little slower but still together.

Today sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, wives and grandkids are gathered here – old friends all doing the same thing: crying and laughing. Reaching out to touch something – to find a name on the wall or to see a familiar face. Running their fingers over granite names. Kissing a son or brother or a husband or an old friend.

Candles were lit. Speeches were given. Young men were remembered. Stories were told. Planes and choppers flew overhead. A general talked. A lady sang. Someone said if you think it’s hot here today, just multiply the discomfort by 10 and you’ve got Vietnam. Gino Cuppini played his trombone. He’s still one tough Marine. Some people talked too long. Others didn’t talk long enough. Mothers talked about their boys. Fathers spoke of their pride.

When it was over, the crowd streamed toward Nick, Tony, Paulie, and Tony. People reached out to just touch them. If you ever saw the Beatles in person you know the feeling. I was seeing history being made.

Everyone was saying what a great job Tony and Nick and the Vietnam Veterans Honor Society had done. Yes, they had all done a great job, but
if you looked at Nick’s face and at the crowd and at the names on the wall, you could see who really had done the heavy lifting.

Now I’ve come full circle. Here I am again, watching people cry and laugh and hug and cry some more. People who were brought together by their love and sacrifice. People whose lives are cemented by the bonds of childhood, the war, an olive drab helicopter, and the big gray wall. I stood there wondering what PFC Steve Lee would have been like by now, if Tom Glawe still went fishing, or if Ronnie Hawks was still the fastest runner I knew.

This memorial proves that a small group of people can make a difference. Go there and see the wall and the helicopter. Go there and touch the souls of 72 young men who made a difference one life at a time. I went to see Nick and the helicopter, but found the wall and five old friends instead.

I cried when they died, now I laugh with my memories. That’s how I remember Memorial Day 2005 and the dedication of the LZ Peace Memorial.

Steve Lee, Tom Glawe, Ronnie Hawks, Richard Hawks, Wallis Patterson. Six names on the wall. They live in all of us.

Death be not proud…One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

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