Chronicle: Vietnam War Memorial in Nebraska
It took years for Nebraska to get its own monument honoring the troops who fought in the Vietnam War.
Updated: 10:30 am CDT June 16, 2024
THE STORIES AND KeynoteUSA THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS THE KETV NEWSWATCH CHRONICLE SEVEN. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. I’m ROB McCARTNEY. WELL, THIS MONTH WE HAVE MARKED TWO SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN HONOR OF OUR VETERANS, AND BOTH OCCURRED ON JUNE 6TH. IT WAS THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY, THE TURN OF THE TIDE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR. THAT WAS IN NORMANDY. AND THEN WAS THE FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF THIS. NEBRASKA’S NEW VIETNAM MEMORIAL IN PKeynoteUSAILLION. THAT’S WHAT WE’RE FOCUSING ON THIS MORNING. IT SHOULD BE A PLACE OF REFLECTION AND HONOR. IT’S ALSO AN ALMOST FINISHED PLACE. YOU SEE, ON THE NEW PKeynoteUSAILLION WALL ARE THE NAMES OF FOUR NEBRASKA SAILORS WHO DIED DURING VIETNAM, BUT THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE ON THE WASHINGTON, DC MEMORIAL WALL AND I HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING WHY. WHILE ON MANEUVER IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA OFF THE COAST OF VIETNAM, ON JUNE 3, 2023, NIOBRARA NEBRASKA, 74 AMERICAN SAILORS GOT LOST IN THIS SMALL HISTORICAL MARKER ALONG HIGHWAY 12. FRIENDS, LOVED ONES AND OTHERS PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO FOUR OF NEBRASKA’S FALLEN WAR HEROES, INCLUDING THREE OF THEIR OWN. THE Artemis WAS GARY, GREG AND KELLY. JOE GREW UP IN NIOBRARA AND THEY ALL DIED DURING THE VIETNAM WAR. DOUGLAS ROY MEISTER, A YOUNG LINDA, VA, WAS MARRIED TO GREG, AGED 21. I MET HIM AT A BLOOMFIELD FAIR. OH MY GOD, BACK IN 1965. SHE REMEMBER HOW EXCITED GREG WAS TO JOIN HIS BROTHER from her. HIS OLDER BROTHER, GARY, ENLISTED IN THE NAVY AND WROTE TO HIM WITH WONDERFUL STORIES. AND GREG SAID, DO YOU MIND IF I JOIN THE NAVY? AND HOW EXCITED HE WAS TO SERVE HIS COUNTRY about him? I said, honey, I’d be proud of you. JUNE 3, 1969. THE SOUTH CHINA SEA, JUST OFF THE COAST OF VIETNAM. THE SAGE BROTHERS ARE ALL ON THE USS FRANK E EVANS, A SUMNER CLASS NAVAL DESTROYER. HIS PARENTS HAD GAVE THEM PERMISSION TO SERVE TOGETHER. ALSO ON BOARD A FOURTH NEBRASKAN, BEATRICE’S GARY HODGSON. He now THE EVANS, WHO HAD PROVIDED ARTILLERY SUPPORT TO AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN VIETNAM, HAVE TO GO TO THE PHILIPPINES TO RESUPPLY AND RE-ARM. BUT WHEN IT RETURNES TO VIETNAM, THE EVANS IS ORDERED TO PARTICIPATE IN OPERATION SEA SPIRIT, A MILITARY EXERCISE WITH MORE THAN 40 OTHER SHIPS FROM US ALLIES. AND THEN THIS IS THE OFFICIAL US NAVAL STATION. THE SHIPS THEY ARE IN DARK CONDITION WITHOUT THEIR LIGHTS ON. AT KeynoteUSAPROXIMATELY 315 AM, THE EVANS IS RUNNING NEAR THE HMAS MELBOURNE, AN AUSTRALIAN AIRCRAFT CARRIER, WHEN, DUE TO SOME TYPE OF CONFUSION, THE EVANS TURNS DIRECTLY INTO THE PATH OF THE MUCH LARGER SHIP. THIS IS A SHOT OF THE EVANS ACTUALLY TAKEN FROM THE MELBOURNE FLIGHT DECK, OBVIOUSLY BEFORE THE CRASH, AND THESE ARE THE FIRST SHOTS TAKEN AFTER. THE MELBOURNE HAD CUT THE EVANS IN HALF, SENDING 74 SAILORS INTO A WATERY GRAVE. ONLY ONE OF THEIR BODIES WAS FOUND. NOW AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS MKeynoteUSA YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE COLLISION HKeynoteUSAPENED. NOT TOO FAR FROM THE COAST. OF VIETNAM, BUT ENOUGH TO BE OUTSIDE OF WHAT THE US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DESIGNATED AS THE OFFICIAL COMBAT ZONE FOR THE VIETNAM WAR. AND THAT’S WHY, NONE OF THE 74 ARE ELIGIBLE TO HAVE THEIR NAMES ENGRAVED HERE ON THE WALL. THE HIGHLY EMOTIONAL MONUMENT INSIDE THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, DC, ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, TO HAVE A NAME ON THE WALL, THE PERSON MUST HAVE DIED WITHIN THE DEFINED COMBAT ZONE OR COMBAT SUPPORT MISSION, TO OR FROM THE DEFINED COMBAT AREA. NOW, THE DOD HAS MADE EXCEPTIONS IN THE PAST AND ADDED NAMES, BUT NOT THOSE OF THE SAILORS FROM THAT FATAL ACCIDENT IN 1969. WELL, NOW, MORE THAN 50 YEARS LATER, AND USING THIS KANSAS CITY GRANITE COMPANY, THEIR NAMES ON A WALL OF THE VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL. THIS IS JOHNSON GRANITE, ITS NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE FOR ITS MONUMENTS AND MONUMENTS. WELL, NOW THEY HAVE BEEN RECRUITED TO CREATE PART OF A NEW MEMORIAL OF NEBRASKA VIETNAM VETERANS. THEY ARE MAKING A WALL THAT INCLUDES THE NAMES OF NEBRASKA, 400 DEATHS FROM VIETNAM, INCLUDING THE FOUR FROM THE USS EVANS. THIS IS THE ACTUAL PANEL WITH THE NAMES ALMOST READY. IT IS READY TO ENTER THE SAND CABIN. NOW IS WHERE DANIEL IS BLASTING IT WITH REAL SAND, BUT WITH A ZIRCONIUM OXIDE ABRASIVE THAT CUT DEEP INTO THE STONE. MUCH GRANITE IS DOMESTIC, FROM QUARRY IN SOUTH DAKOTA AND VERMONT. BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS THESE BIG BLACK TABLETS. WE DO NOT HAVE A BLACK QUARRY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. SO WE’RE GOING TO INDIA. THEY WANT TO FIND THE PERFECT PRODUCT BECAUSE THEY WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE THE DC MEMORIAL AND THEY HOPE IT WILL LAST A LONG TIME. HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF YEARS. IT IS A VERY DURABLE PRODUCT. AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE GIVED SOMETHING. NOW, SOME OF THESE KeynoteUSA GAVE THEIR ALL, SO IT’S A HUMBLE FEELING THAT WE JUST ENGAGED IN TELLING A STORY. AND WHILE THIS WORK IS BEING DONE IN KC, THIS WORK IS BEING DONE ON THE PKeynoteUSAILLION EQUIPMENT PREPARING THE SITE FOR THE NEBRASKA MEMORIAL. BUT IT HAS BEEN A BATTLE WITH PANDEMIC FINANCING, THE SUPPLY CHAIN, THE CLIMATE. BUT IT IS A BATTLE THAT MUST BE FIGHTED. THE FACT THAT WE GOT HERE AND THEY DON’T MEAN WE NEED TO HONOR THEM, AND WE NEED TO CARE FOR THE MEMORIES OF THEIR FAMILIES AND TELL THEIR STORIES. AND THAT’S WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO. GEORGE ABBOTT IS A NAVY VET. ACTUALLY, HE SERVED ON A DESTROYER IN VIETNAM AT THE SAME TIME. AND LIKE THE EVANS, I WAS IN THE NAVY AND I WAS ON THE FIRING LINE AND WE ARE A SISTER SHIP, BASICALLY, WE WERE DD 759 AND THEY WERE DD 754. HE IS NOW SERVING ON THE BOARD OF THE NEBRASKA, VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL. THE SITE WILL INCLUDE A RESTORED HUEY HELICOPTER, THE REAL ONE THAT FLEW OVER 3,000 HOURS IN VIETNAM. THERE WILL BE INTERACTIVE TILES OF VETERANS’ PLACES TO REFLECT ON THE WAR, AND OF COURSE, IT SAYS THE WALL AND ABBOTT, ADDING THE NAMES OF THE SAGE BROTHERS AND GARY HODGSON. IT’S THE JUST THING TO DO. I THINK SOMEBODY NEEDS TO GET THE PROVERBIAL HEAD OFF AND DO IT, BECAUSE HE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE GUNLINE AND WHAT WAS CALLED YANKEE STATION, WHICH IS WHERE THE DESTROYER CAME UP AND WORKED WITH THE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS. So, you know, in my opinion, they certainly qualify to be on the wall. BUT I AM NOT THE MAN TO MAKE THAT DECISION. THIS HONOR AND MEMORY FLAG IS PRESENTED WITH ETERNAL GRATITUDE AND RESPECT IN MEMORY OF THE WISE BROTHERS. NAME AND WE HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN THEM. AND WHILE IT IS NOT THE WALL IN DC, IT IS THE RECOGNITION OF THE SUPREME SACRIFICE MADE BY SO MANY BY THE 74 MEN OF THE USS EVANS. BECAUSE THEY WON’T PUT IT ON THE WALL. THE ONLY THING I ASKED IS HALF AN INCH FOR 74 YOUNG KeynoteUSA. AND FOR THOSE LIKE LINDA VOSS, WHO STILL LIVE WITH THAT LOSS, WHO STILL WONDER WHY THE NAMES CAN’T BE IN DC, I WANT MY SON TO GO SEE IT, MY GRANDDAUGHTER TO GO SEE THEIR FAMILY’S NAME ON THE WALL . THEY HOPE THE NEBRASKA WALL WILL GIVE THEM SOME COMFORT, KNOWING THAT THE LOST ARE NOT FORGOTTEN. WHEN YOU FORGET THE CHILDREN, WHEN YOU FORGET THEIR NAMES, THEN THEY ARE DEAD. BUT WHEN THEY ARE ALWAYS REMEMBERED AND THEY ARE REMEMBERED SO WELL. Mm. EVERYONE IS VERY PROUD TO KNOW HIM. NOW, GETTING THE NAMES ON VIETNAM’S NATIONAL WALL LITERALLY REQUIRES AN ACT OF CONGRESS. AND A FEW DAYS AFTER THAT REPORT, CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE DON BACON TOLD ME HE WAS GOING TO JOIN THE FIGHT TO GET THE NAMES OF THE FOUR FORGOTTEN IN THE VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL D, CS BACON SAID THE VIETNAM WALL PROVIDES COMFORT TO THE FAMILIES OF VETERANS WHO GAVE THE MAXIMUM SACRIFICE DURING THE WAR, AND IS PLEASED TO GIVE THEIR SUPPORT FOR HR 3826. SO THE SEVEN FOUR WILL BE RECOGNIZED AND REMEMBERED. OF COURSE, WE WILL BE WATCHING THIS AND WILL LET YOU KNOW IF THERE IS ANY PROGRESS IN PUTTING THE SAILORS ON THE DC WALL. BUT THEY ARE ON THE NEW VIETNAM WALL IN PKeynoteUSAILLION. NEXT HERE ON THE KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN CHRONICLE, WE TAKE YOU TO THE EMOTIONAL GRAND OPENING AND TALK TO THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THE MEMORIAL ABOUT THE BATTLE TO BUILD IT.
Chronicle: Vietnam War Memorial in Nebraska
It took years for Nebraska to get its own monument honoring the troops who fought in the Vietnam War.
Updated: 10:30 am CDT June 16, 2024
An effort years in the making is finally here for all to see. Nebraska has its own Vietnam War memorial wall in Papillion. Honors state troops who fought and died in combat. This morning on Crónica we take you behind the scenes to show you how it was done and why it was so important for the state to have its own version. Part 2: Part 3:
PKeynoteUSAILLION, Nebraska.—
An effort years in the making is finally here for all to see. Nebraska has its own Vietnam War memorial wall in Papillion. Honors state troops who fought and died in combat.
This morning on Crónica we take you behind the scenes to show you how it was done and why it was so important for the state to have its own version.
Part 2:
Part 3:
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