‘Go and pause’
DANBURY — It’s the names of some of the people Paul Valeri sat next to at Danbury High School.
That’s what an onlooker would find at the city’s Vietnam war memorial in Rogers Park: etchings to memorialize people who served their country and went missing or paid the ultimate price, a handful of which he went to school with.
And Valeri, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, wants people to go by and stop for a moment to take that in — the plaque, the statute with a child holding tight
“Stuff like that sticks with you. That’s why people need not only to respect the vets, but to get involved in causes.”
to a soldier — and not just on Veterans Day or Memorial Day.
“Go and pause,” he said, “and understand that over in places like Afghanistan and Iraq now, we have similar aged youngsters.”
Valeri, who said he worked as an intelligence officer and received a Bronze Star for meritorious service, marks one of the about 2.7 million Americans the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recorded as representing the country in Vietnam.
Now, the Danbury native and current Bridgewater resident leads a real estate company, which started in the 1970s. Among other roles, he also serves on the board of trustees for the Danbury Museum, which is on the lookout for photos of veterans from the “Korean War, Vietnam War, Afghanistan, or Iraq or any recent conflict” since it doesn’t have as many of them, according to a social media post.
The museum hasn’t received any submissions specifically related to that social media outreach yet, said museum executive director Brigid Guertin, but the museum has received “a lot of donations” in general during the pandemic, such as some women’s hats from the ‘50s and ‘60s.
To contribute an item, Guertin noted that people don’t have to hand over something that they don’t want to let go of, “although unique items are always appreciated,” she said.
“We’re just asking that when people are looking at those items today, and tomorrow and into the week, that they take a photo. Send us a pic, shoot us a little note, tell us about your loved one,” she said. “And we’ll make sure that they become a permanent part of Danbury history.”
There’s a few veterans on the museum’s board who have donated before, Guertin said. Valeri likely submitted “some of (his) father’s stuff from World War II,” he said.
He’s continued to be involved with veterans affairs over the years, with initiatives including working to establish Vet House — living spaces for veterans who were previously experiencing homelessness — to supporting organizations such as Mission 22, a nonprofit that provides a variety of resources for veterans.
The veteran recalled some fond memories, like coaching fastpitch softball at Fort Carson in Colorado, taking time off before he left the country and driving his Rambler American to Yellowstone or using part of his $50per-month ROTC stipend when he was in school at the University of Notre Dame to get a six-pack of beer for 99 cents and a bag of pretzels.
And then there are the things that stay in his head to this day: Finding out through an alumni magazine his friend Stephen Shields from ROTC had served at the “same bloody post” he had and died in Vietnam, or watching a captain feel the area where his legs used to be shortly after they were both amputated.
“Stuff like that sticks with you,” Valeri said. “That’s why people need, not only to respect the vets, but to get involved in causes.”
Paul Valeri