The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
VETERANS REMEMBERED
Memorial celebrates the lives of those lost in the Vietnam War
Veterans, family and community members gathered May 27 at the Lorain County Vietnam Veterans Memorial to celebrate the lives of those lost in the war.
This was the 30th annual vigil held in the county and the 10th held at the memorial, 625 North Lake Street in Amherst.
Near the memorial, 98 chairs sat empty with the pictures and stories of the young men who left Lorain County to serve their country in the war and never returned. There were also 98 flags lining North Lake Street.
Following the national anthem, which was performed by Peter Quick — a student at First Baptist Christian School — veteran Don Attie gave the assembled crowd an overview of the history of the monument.
He said the memorial
“It means a lot to me to be here. I’m proud and humbled to be a part of this.”
— Veteran Don Attie
underwent multiple iterations of the design, but the final design contains benches that open out welcoming everyone to come remember. The benches were quarried out of the same quarry in Indiana that supplied the limestone that built the Empire State Building.
The eagle that rests above the bronze flag that serves as a frame for an image of the county with the 98 names listed was designed by a veteran. It
looks down onto the names and has 9 feathers, according to Attie.
“It means a lot to me to be here,” he said. “I’m proud and humbled to be a part of this.”
Sam Felton, a veteran and recipient of the Navy Cross shared his awe in being at the memorial while speaking.
“I guess, for me, it’s something that’s a rendition of the souls that are remembered,” he said.
Felton told the story of when he returned from combat and tried to avoid anything to do with the war or the military. He said that changed when he ran
into Attie and other Vietnam veterans at Lakeview Park in Lorain.
They asked if he would be interested in reading some of the 98 names of the Lorain County men who did not return from the war. He said he was given pause when he reached the name of one of his friends.
“It brought back a memory of a friend I went through boot camp with, I became brothers, became friends, his family came to the graduation and he’s not going to be around anymore for me to hug him and say, ‘man, you know it was hell over there
but thankfully we made it back,’ ” he said.
“For me, and hopefully for all of you, what today really stand for is the fact that so many people have been called a hero over the years, so many people have been admired for their service but let us not forget the guys who didn’t make it home.”
As part of the ceremony, a number of veterans received pins from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Also, Tom Tamerario read the names of those from the county who did not return while Bill Brokop struck a bell.