Vietnam memorial coming to Waynesburg
Visitors point to a name on the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in this undated photo. The wall will arrive at the Greene County Fairgrounds Wednesday and be open to the public Thursday through Sunday.
An Air Force honor guard stands in front of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in this undated photo.
Army Cpl. Keith Held
WAYNESBURG – The soldier died, but his letters home kept coming.
Doug Held of Morgan Township received several missives from his brother Keith, 20, after learning the Army corporal was killed June 1, 1970, in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
“His letters were saying that he couldn’t wait to get home to buy his Mustang when he got out of the service,” Held said. “It took us a few days to get his body back. It was pretty hard back then. My brother didn’t really have a choice because he was drafted.”
Held said the day he found out about his brother’s death he saw his father’s car parked outside a house where his mother did cleaning work.
“Dad worked at Humphrey Mine and he never missed work, so I knew something was wrong,” Held said. “When I got home, the military Jeep was there with a couple of soldiers.”
That same sadness was known by many grieving families in Greene and Washington counties who lost loved ones in Vietnam. According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s Wall of Faces database, seven men from Greene County and 64 from Washington County were killed in the war.
Those families, including Held’s, will have the opportunity to honor their loved ones this week, as the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be erected at the Greene County Fairgrounds Wednesday and can be seen through Sunday night.
The wall is based in Brevard County, Fla., and is one of three Vietnam traveling walls in the country. Doc Russo, the wall manager, said there are 58,307 names on the wall, which is 288 feet long and six feet tall, and a replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C. The wall was last in this area when it came to California in 2007.
Bringing the wall to Greene County was a process started in 2015 by Rick Black of Waynesburg. He formed a committee and got sponsorship for the wall from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Waynesburg Post 4793 and Greene County Veterans Council. In addition to the seven men listed from Greene County on the Wall of Faces database, Black said their research also found two other men who died with ties to Greene County.
“I’ve seen the wall. It’s a very moving experience,” said Black, who served in the Navy on three different tours from 1964 to 1968 during the war.
Black said the wall will be in pieces in a trailer, which will be escorted by motorcycles Wednesday afternoon from Morgantown, W.Va., to Greene County. Doug Held, whose birthday is Wednesday, will lead the procession.
“I just thought, ‘What a great way to honor my brother,'” Held said.
During his brother’s funeral in Mt. Morris more than 47 years ago, a motorcycle group pulled out in front of the hearse and led them to the cemetery.
“We didn’t know them, but they were honoring my brother,” Held said. “When I went to the wall in Washington, D.C., on a motorcycle, I got real emotional trying to find his name. I’ll be emotional doing this on Wednesday – riding with people with flags.”
Doug and Keith grew up on their family’s farm on Bells Run Road in Mt. Morris. Keith was a year older than Doug and they went to Mapletown High School together. Keith was drafted in 1969, and by the following year, he was dead.
“My brother didn’t really get much of a life because he went from working on the farm to Vietnam,” Held said. “I have the flag that was on the casket in a glass case with a letter that he wrote me.”
Following Held’s motorcycle in the procession will be Purple Heart veterans who ride, including Don Martin, of Morris Township, Washington County. Martin served in the army from 1969 to 1971.
“When you go to the wall and you’re a veteran, you go to the wall and you cry,” Martin said. “It’s just one of those things that people need to do on their own and in their own way to get closure.”
Following the Purple Heart recipients will be any motorcyclists who wish to honor veterans with the escort ride. When they arrive at the fairgrounds, the wall will be erected, but will not be open to the public until 9 a.m. Thursday. It will then be open 24 hours a day through Sunday night, and volunteers will be there to help people find names.
The opening ceremony with a National Guard flyover will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday and Martin will give an address.
The Veterans Center in Morgantown is providing counselors from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day the wall is in town for anyone who may need to talk to someone about experiencing the wall.
“It’s often difficult for veterans to see the memorial,” said Brandon Gregory, outreach specialist with the Morgantown Veterans Center. “It brings up a lot of memories and emotions, some good some bad.”
Gregory said that since many veterans don’t have the opportunity to visit the memorial wall in Washington, D.C., this could be the first time they’re seeing the names presented in this manner.
“This may be the first time they have connected with other service members since their return from combat, and it gives them the opportunity to process through those feelings and those memories,” Gregory said. “The staff at the Veterans Affairs Office and the Veterans Center are trained to help veterans through that journey.”
On Saturday, there will be another flyover followed by a 1 p.m. recognition ceremony for the Greene County names on the wall.
“We are looking for classmates of those men to attend the ceremony,” Martin said.
A Warrior’s Rock concert will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, with songs that veterans relied on while they were overseas. The closing ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Sunday, before the wall is taken down.
“I think when family members or other veterans see that wall, they’ll see that those people are not forgotten,” Martin said. “I really expect a lot of people to come through and to get a lot from it.”