VietNow
National Magazine
Less-Than-Famous
War Memorials
Nassau County
Veterans Monument
Nassau County, New York
Monument
brochure from Joyce A. Rommel, of the
Vietnam War Veterans Association, by
way of Bill Kessling, who forwarded the
information to the VietNow National Magazine.
The Nassau
County Veterans Monument is not simply
a memorial to those who lost their lives,
but one that celebrates the everlasting
bonds of brotherhood forged between those
who served.
Standing in
the center of the Nassau County Veterans
Plaza, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, Long
Island, New York, the monument is designed
to complement the plateau of the plaza
and the existing monuments to POW/MIAs,
World
War II, and the Korean War.
The hands
Two clasped hands rise out of a map of
Southeast Asia,
rising above adversity, time, and torment,
to bear witness to a reality that only
fellow veterans could understand, yet all
who see it will remember. Brotherhood.
The
hands are bound together by dog tags,
representing the ties that bind each and
every member of the Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marines, and Coast Guard, who served during
the war.
The map is etched
with the borders of Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia. Scenes of troops and their equipment
are etched into the raised stone platforms.
No battles are shown, just the collective,
shared experience of those who went to
war.
Paraphrased
from the memorial plaque
From July 8th, 1959, until April 30th,
1975, the United States of America sent
its finest to serve in Southeast Asia.
Some served in the early years as advisors,
covertly, or in theater support, while
others later served in-country and in combat.
They are all brothers.
During the course
of the war, these troops were not fully
supported either by the government that
sent them or by the citizens of the United
States. The valor, duty, and sacrifice
of these brave men is unquestioned. They
never lost a battle. They endured hell
on earth. Yet they returned home, not to
parades, but to scorn.
History has
shown that the camaraderie they displayed,
their understanding of one another, their
problems, their health issues, and the
continued stigma of being a Vietnam veteran
were never fully appreciated by the American
public until many years later.
All they
had was each other
Over fifty-eight thousand of America’s
best and -brightest made the ultimate sacrifice.
Thousands were listed as Prisoner Of War
or Missing In Action. Even now, families
and friends still wait for answers about
those still unaccounted for.
All must be
remembered
Whether living, dead, wounded, still enduring
captivity, or waiting for their remains
to be brought home, each and every one
of them is an elite class of citizen. True
brothers. Then, now, and forever.
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to Memorial Page
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