Monday is Memorial Day. Each year at this time I go to the Flanders Field section of our local cemetery to pay tribute to four of my classmates that served in Vietnam, Leonard Harjo, James Sherfield, Dana Muskgrove and Lynn True. Friends and heroes that, in my mind, will be forever young.

Those that read our newspaper on a regular basis know that we honor our veterans at every opportunity. There is no way we can ever repay their sacrifices, but we must see that their heroism is never forgotten.

One of the most moving experiences of my life was when the Vietnam Moving Wall came to Holdenville. I was there every day and, in the words of one of the veterans, every day is Memorial Day to a veteran.

Here are some interesting statistics about the Vietnam Memorial Wall . . .

There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Massachusetts. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on September 7, 1965.

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.

Twelve (12) soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

Five (5) soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

One (1) soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam...

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam...

Thirty-one (31) sets of brothers are on the Wall.

Thirty-one (31) sets of parents lost two of their sons.

Fifty-Four (54) soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. (I wonder why so many from one school.)

Eight (8) women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.

244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.

Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci’s mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966.

Only three returned home.

The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam.

In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, November 22 ^nd , the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on December 7 ^th , Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.

For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters.

There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

—CC—

Several years ago, I lost my father. He was a World War II combat veteran. The American Legion conducted military rites at the cemetery and presented me with the flag, along with the following article . . .

A Soldier & His Flag

The Flag of the United States of America embodies our country’s ideals and moral principles and the values we cherish as citizens. As a soldier in the military, the Flag represents the Constitution of the United States that I pledge to defend and support even at the risk of death.

The Flag is part of every ceremony that involves the initial oath of enlistment into the military, the changing of military commanders and military funerals. Old Glory is so revered that it is raised up the flag pole and lowered every evening in a military ceremony 365 days a year on every military post.

The American Flag’s significance is so ingrained into the military that even the folding of it has a very special meaning. The symbolism for each fold is:

First Fold: The symbol of life.

Second Fold: Our belief in eternal life.

Third Fold: Honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks . . .

Fourth Fold: Represents our weaker nature . . . it is to God we turn in times of peace as well as in times of war for His divine guidance.

Fifth Fold: A tribute to our country . . . “Still our country, right or wrong.”

Sixth Fold: Where our hearts lie. It is with our hearts that we “pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Seventh Fold: A tribute to our Armed Forces . . . who protect our country and our flag against all her enemies.

Eighth Fold: A tribute to the ones who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.

Ninth Fold: A tribute to womanhood and Mothers . . . who mold the men and women who have made this country great.

Tenth Fold: A tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country.

Eleventh Fold: Glorifies in the Hebrews’ eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Twelfth Fold: Glorifies God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Thirteenth Fold: Flag is completely folded with the stars uppermost, reminding us of our nation’s motto, “In God We Trust.”

The flag given on behalf of my father has a special place in our living room . . . and in my heart.

Those who fought to preserve our freedom will always be my heroes and we will join countless others this Memorial Day in saying “Thank You.”