thedrifter
09-03-08, 03:02 PM
Vietnam War memorial comes to Needham
By Steven Ryan
Wed Sep 03, 2008, 11:10 AM EDT
A powerful testament to the lives lost during the Vietnam War will come to Needham this fall, just as renovations to one of the town’s permanent memorials to the nation’s soldiers is finally completed.
A half-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, part of the traveling exhibit, “The Wall That Heals,” will visit Needham in late October, appropriately at a newly renovated Memorial Field.
The town received confirmation last week that the exhibit is coming to Needham. Selectman John Bulian said he and others have worked for about a year and a half in order to bring the exhibit, which also includes a traveling museum, to town. The exhibit will be at Memorial Park from Oct. 30 through Nov. 2.
The exhibit, which was dedicated in 1996, stops at about 30 communities in the United States during the year, with Falmouth, Natick, Framingham and Waltham being some of the other Massachusetts communities that have hosted it over the years. Bulian credits Congressman Stephen Lynch, D-9th, for helping bring the memorial to Needham.
“It has been said that there is loyalty in the simple act of remembrance,” Lynch said. “I am pleased and proud that the town of Needham has offered this gesture of comfort, respect and loyalty to the memory of these fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, to the many families who, each day, continue to carry the burden of their loss and to all the men and women who served bravely in Vietnam.”
Bulian said the exhibit has the potential to attract “thousands” of visitors to Needham from around the region, which would require a coordinated effort to manage traffic and safety. On the last day of the exhibit, Nov. 2, the town is planning to have a ceremony.
“This is going to be a very exciting event in the history of Needham,” Bulian said.
The idea originated by member of the Memorial Park Trustees during a meeting to discuss ways to commemorate the reopening of the park, said Bulian, who is the Board of Selectmen’s representative on the board of trustees.
While here, the memorial will be open 24 hours a day, requiring around-the-clock security. Keating said he is hoping able veterans in Needham, along with those in surrounding communities, will assist the town with security, which is done by volunteers.
“The goal is to involve as many citizens as possible,” Bulian said.
Keating, who served in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970, saw the exhibit when it visited Waltham and attended the dedication of the original memorial in Washington in 1982. He feels the VFW will embrace the wall’s arrival to Needham, which has a permanent Vietnam Memorial of its own on Cefalo Road, off Central Avenue.
“It would be a welcomed sight to see, people honoring those who gave their lives in Vietnam,” Keating said.
Keating said he has two friends whose names are on the wall, and there are seven Needham names on it. He noted the Vietnam War, for people his age, was a “crucial part of their formation as young adults.”
“[The wall] reinforces what it meant to be in the armed forces, doing your job and sometimes paying the ultimate sacrifice,” Keating said. “The men and women [who fought in Vietnam] did their jobs professionally…Needham should be pleased and honored to be accepted to host [the exhibit].”
Steven Ryan can be reached at sryan@cnc.com.
Ellie
By Steven Ryan
Wed Sep 03, 2008, 11:10 AM EDT
A powerful testament to the lives lost during the Vietnam War will come to Needham this fall, just as renovations to one of the town’s permanent memorials to the nation’s soldiers is finally completed.
A half-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, part of the traveling exhibit, “The Wall That Heals,” will visit Needham in late October, appropriately at a newly renovated Memorial Field.
The town received confirmation last week that the exhibit is coming to Needham. Selectman John Bulian said he and others have worked for about a year and a half in order to bring the exhibit, which also includes a traveling museum, to town. The exhibit will be at Memorial Park from Oct. 30 through Nov. 2.
The exhibit, which was dedicated in 1996, stops at about 30 communities in the United States during the year, with Falmouth, Natick, Framingham and Waltham being some of the other Massachusetts communities that have hosted it over the years. Bulian credits Congressman Stephen Lynch, D-9th, for helping bring the memorial to Needham.
“It has been said that there is loyalty in the simple act of remembrance,” Lynch said. “I am pleased and proud that the town of Needham has offered this gesture of comfort, respect and loyalty to the memory of these fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, to the many families who, each day, continue to carry the burden of their loss and to all the men and women who served bravely in Vietnam.”
Bulian said the exhibit has the potential to attract “thousands” of visitors to Needham from around the region, which would require a coordinated effort to manage traffic and safety. On the last day of the exhibit, Nov. 2, the town is planning to have a ceremony.
“This is going to be a very exciting event in the history of Needham,” Bulian said.
The idea originated by member of the Memorial Park Trustees during a meeting to discuss ways to commemorate the reopening of the park, said Bulian, who is the Board of Selectmen’s representative on the board of trustees.
While here, the memorial will be open 24 hours a day, requiring around-the-clock security. Keating said he is hoping able veterans in Needham, along with those in surrounding communities, will assist the town with security, which is done by volunteers.
“The goal is to involve as many citizens as possible,” Bulian said.
Keating, who served in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970, saw the exhibit when it visited Waltham and attended the dedication of the original memorial in Washington in 1982. He feels the VFW will embrace the wall’s arrival to Needham, which has a permanent Vietnam Memorial of its own on Cefalo Road, off Central Avenue.
“It would be a welcomed sight to see, people honoring those who gave their lives in Vietnam,” Keating said.
Keating said he has two friends whose names are on the wall, and there are seven Needham names on it. He noted the Vietnam War, for people his age, was a “crucial part of their formation as young adults.”
“[The wall] reinforces what it meant to be in the armed forces, doing your job and sometimes paying the ultimate sacrifice,” Keating said. “The men and women [who fought in Vietnam] did their jobs professionally…Needham should be pleased and honored to be accepted to host [the exhibit].”
Steven Ryan can be reached at sryan@cnc.com.
Ellie