Project commemorates Vietnam veterans

loading...

BANGOR – Bernard Coro of Medway loved to work on cars. Thomas Moody of Guilford was an award-winning artist. Paul Sudsbury of Corinna had a passion for sports.

Before they were killed in Vietnam, Maine soldiers were like boys everywhere, the president of the local Vietnam Veterans of America chapter said Saturday.

Because Linwood Green wants the men to be remembered for how they lived as much as for how they died, he came up with the idea of Mobile Memories, a traveling exhibit that will memorialize the 343 Maine boys lost in Vietnam between 1964 and 1975.

Housed in a black trailer emblazoned with the words “Unlock The Past,” the exhibit will travel to schools, fairs and community events across the state.

“People will see that these were ordinary Maine boys from good families, they were the kids who grew up next door, who belonged to 4-H clubs, who played football and baseball,” said Green, captain of the Orono Police Department.

On Saturday, as part of the Veterans Day parade, Allen Nadeau of Orono and Ron Savoy of Holden towed the still-empty trailer down Main Street in Bangor.

Lining the sidewalks in the chilly morning air were residents of all ages, some wrapped in blankets sitting in chairs, others cupping Styrofoam containers of steaming coffee.

Veterans of several wars, some walking, others riding in buses and jeeps, were greeted with enthusiastic applause.

Meanwhile, bands from area schools provided the rousing, patriotic music that left some people wiping away tears of emotion.

“A country that forgets its veterans will itself be forgotten,” U.S. Rep. John Baldacci told the crowd from the reviewing stand.

Later, during an interview at the Bangor Daily News, Nadeau and Savoy said that remembering the brothers they lost during the Vietnam War spurred their involvement in the Mobile Memories project.

“We want to show that these boys aren’t just names on a wall,” Nadeau said.

Families and friends of veterans will be asked to lend photos, news articles, letters and memorabilia which will be scanned into computers as part of a musical video illustrating each man’s story.

Every 10 seconds the name of a Vietnam veteran who died in action will flash on the screen.

Members of the chapter also hope to borrow items veterans brought back from Vietnam, such as jungle boots, dog tags, uniforms, paintings and carvings.

These will be inventoried and displayed on a sliding panel on which the name of veterans who died in Vietnam will be engraved.

Relatives may screen their video and will be presented with a copy, according to Green who said a computer disc also will be available for teachers presenting units on Vietnam history.

As much as anything, Green is counting on the nascent project to help preserve the history of the Vietnam War as it affected Maine families.

“If we don’t collect this now, where are the pictures and the stories and knowledge going to end up?” he said, pointing out that documents and memorabilia from earlier wars have been lost forever.

“The stuff just disappeared,” he said.

While promoters of the project hope to obtain information about all the veterans, they are aware that asking people to dig through the past may open a Pandora’s box of emotions.

“It’s a touchy subject, it’s picking a scab,” said Nadeau.

Discussing the war was too painful for many veterans, according to Green, who said some remained closemouthed in part because of the war’s controversial nature.

“It was unpopular to talk about, and it just became easier to push it back and forget it,” he said.

Looking for work after putting in two tours of duty in Vietnam, Mark Carney of Newport often would remain circumspect about his past.

“Vietnam veterans were seen as dope addicts and baby killers, we were lumped together into the bad boys of war,” he said.

The latest project is a way to make things right, according to former VVA president Robert Whelan of Orono.

It offers families a sense of closure as well as an opportunity to feel honored, said the University of Maine lecturer who teaches a course on Vietnam-era literature.

Members of the once moribund VVA chapter have become energized, committed to bringing their president’s idea to fruition, Whelan said.

The shiny black Mobile Memories trailer has also given the VVA’s representation at the parade a real makeover.

“It’s the first time our presence has been so spectacular – we haven’t had anything that classy,” Whelan said. “We used to march with a big banner, wearing old fatigues.

“But now it’s a different time.”

Mobile Memories has raised more than $6,000 thanks to Unicel in Bangor and the American Legion of Orono, Post 84, as well as through other private and business contributions. Additional funds are needed. For information on how you can help, call Linwood Green, 866-4102, or visit the Web site at www.bairnet.org/organizations/vva or www.bairnet.org.