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SYRACUSE - All 58,229 names of the U.S. Vietnam War casualties are engraved on the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall.
The wall, four-fifths the size of the actual one in Washington, D.C., will be in Syracuse Oct. 2-5. It includes the names of 40 men from the area or with ties to the area. The wall set-up begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 2 at Liberty Lot Field, off Sycamore Street, behind Calvary United Methodist Church and Pizza King, Syracuse. It will take four to six hours for the wall to be put up.
"I wanted to get it here," said Syracuse chamber director Steve Hite, "so we could remember the veterans, honor those who served" and help in the healing process.
As part of the remembrance, banners will be flown throughout Syracuse with the theme, "All gave some. Some gave all." While the wall is in place, there will be a 24-hour candlelight vigil, with all 58,229 names being read. The Indiana National Guard, through the Warsaw Armory, will provide guard duty for the wall.
A parade will be Oct. 5 beginning at 10 a.m., followed by a memorial service at 12:30 p.m. In the parade, the Marines will provide a color guard with "Taps" and will provide a 21-gun salute and two Humvees for the memorial service. The Army will provide its "Army of One" Hummer and a rock-climbing wall. The Navy is slated to provide an F-18 flight simulator and a boat float. The Navy band from the Great Lakes Naval Training Center RTC, "which is very huge," said Hite, will be a part of the parade and service. KCOnline is sponsoring the band.
At the end of the memorial service, there will be a flyby from the Fort Wayne reserves F-16, Blackhawks and UH-1.
Keynote speaker will be Adrian Cronauer. In the movie "Good Morning, Vietnam," actor Robin Williams portrayed Cronauer. Also speaking will be Advance America's Eric Miller and possibly other guest speakers.
Any organization wanting to put floats in the Oct. 5 parade to honor the veterans should contact the Chamber.
To bring the traveling wall to Syracuse, Hite said, it costs quite a bit of money. The chamber has gone out to all the area Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legions to help pay for the wall.
"The response has been tremendous. Everyone's excited about it coming to their hometown," Hite said.
Many Vietnam veterans are now parents or grandparents, Hite said, so bringing the wall to the area will allow their descendants to get a piece of their heritage, to ask questions about the war, he said.
The chamber is working with the schools so not only can the war be taught in the schools, but the students can see the wall, too.
Lt. Col. Jon Torzowski, a Vietnam veteran and the current baton commander for the Indiana National Guard, South Bend, will visit all the area high schools with nine tables of Vietnam artifacts for display. He will talk about a day in the life of a Vietnam soldier, the war as portrayed in movies versus reality and the objective of the war then versus what has been learned since. He will be at Warsaw Community High School Sept. 24 beginning at 11 a.m. and at Wawasee High School today all day. He also will set up a display at the wall and give the same lectures for the general public.
In addition, high school students are doing research on the names of area men who were casualties of the war. They are trying to talk to families, get pictures and find out where the soldiers are buried.
"Now the students are getting a personal involvement with the wall," said Hite. They get to meet the soldiers' families, creating personal awareness about the war and dialogue.
Other events also are being planned for the commemoration. Oct. 4, the VFW and Legion are planning a '60s dance at the Legion beginning around 7 or 8 p.m. The Pickwick Theatre, Syracuse, will hold special screenings of the Vietnam War picture, "We Were Soldiers."
From 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 5, the USS Lillypad, Lake Wawasee, will offer a historical cruise. For ticket information, contact The Frog Tavern.
David Butler, Syracuse, has designed shirts, pins and dog tags for purchase, available through the local VFWs, Legions or the Syracuse Chamber. The banners being displayed throughout Syracuse also can be purchased in memory of someone, and when the commemoration is finished, the banners will be given to the person(s) who purchased them.
There is no admission charge to view the wall or attend the memorial service. However, donations will be accepted for parking at Wawasee High School for the Oct. 5 memorial service to help pay for the wall. A bus shuttle service will be provided from the high school to the wall's site.
Hite said, "It should be a great thing for our area, and schools are extremely looking forward to it."
