message board home
Next
5/31/2022 9:12:46 AM
 
Reply
or ReplyNewSubject
Section 21: Community News Subject: Thoughts on Wall That Heals Msg# 1160517
|
||||||
|
Thank you for writing this testimonial, which I just read (5/31/2022) on your "Thoughts on the Wall That Heals"
And thank you again for taking the picture of Plaque #30, with my brother's name, Thomas G. Turner, right there beaming up in the middle. It is so fitting that it and my brother's spirit now finds a new home in Ocean Pines, MD I want to tell you (and all the others in Ocean Pines who are responding to me) that we are hearing now from more people today than in 1969 when Tommy died. My father called so many times and got NO response from anyone up the chain of command in the Army, not one person, not even the Lt who sent Tommy and the others (who were all killed) into known North Vietnamese territory. We slowly learned one by one, only as others who fought with Tommy, called my Father, to let him, and us, know the truth of what happened. Later as time went by, others up the chain of command called us, we went to many memorials for Tommy, and others. Now there is a book with more information on what happened, about what my brother and so many others did was published in 1993. My niece (who lives in Ocean Pines) just found something that was published in the Congressional Record on April 1, 1969, which none of us had seen before. It's a different time now, and sometimes even the President calls a family. But for us, for my family, it's responses from people like you and all the others in Ocean Pines who have organized and funded this effort, that matter the most to us, who continue to sincerely weep and mourn and honor the dead who died in all our wars, and on this day especially, for my brother, Sgt Thomas G. Turner. I love to write that out because I know he was promoted after his death. That sounds so hollow to say, like I'm picking through the ashes of his death, but I have to admit it does continue to mean so much to me. Sometimes I even think it could be part of the healing that is flooding out from the Wall That Heals. Many thanks again to you Joe, and to all, Marsha and Joel Rochow, and to everyone in the family of Sgt. Thomas G. Turner |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
For reference, the above message is a reply to a message where: The Wall That Heals commentary by Joe Reynolds It is an enduring testimonial to the patriotism, honor, and selflessness of 58,276 American heroes who gave their lives for their country and their comrades in arms during the Vietnam War. It is a monument to the greatness within individuals. It is beautiful work of art. It is depressing. It is celebratory. It is black. It is engraved in white letters with those 58,276 names. One was fifteen years old. Eight were women. Forty sets of brothers. Three sets of Father and Son. Average age is under twenty-three. Over 1,500 are unaccounted for. It is The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scaled replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Three hundred and seventy-five feet long. It stands now in our community. In Ocean Pines. Forty-five volunteers showed up Wednesday morning to erect the wall. Driving metal stakes. Carrying and assembling the metal framework. Lugging heavy wall panels the length of a football field. Grueling work. They labored non-stop from early morning until late afternoon. These were not all young, strong individuals. These were predominately seniors. Men and women over sixty. Some well over sixty. One woman appeared on the verge of collapse. Someone grabbed her end of a wall panel. She sat down. Ten minutes later she emerged from the gaping end of the trailer containing the Wall pieces, again carrying one end of another heavy wall panel. They were showing their respect for the devotion and ultimate sacrifice of those who never came home from a war far, far away. No question, this was a labor of love. Of appreciation. For those with names on the wall, and for those who survived and returned to an American populace shamefully not ready to recognize their amazing sacrifice. As a photographer, I photographed the workers’ efforts. Later Wednesday evening, I returned to view and photograph The Wall That Heals in the faint afterglow of dusk merging into night. For a time I was alone with The Wall. The enormity of the individual and family sacrifice stretched out before me in the symbolism of the Wall was overwhelming. Like the universe, it is beyond comprehension. |
| Calendar |
Special Board Meeting - Board Room
11/21/2024 - 7:00 P.M. 3 days or less away! |
|
OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
11/23/2024 - 9:00 A.M. 3 days or less away! |
|
OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
12/21/2024 - 9:00 A.M. |
|
OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
1/25/2025 - 9: A.M. |
|
OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
2/22/2025 - 9:00 A.M. |