Rainy Wednesday morning didn't stop crowd from showing up to honor Vietnam veterans
Mar. 29—Dozens of military veterans, along with friends, family and veteran advocates, joined together on a rainy Wednesday morning at the Portrait of a Warrior Gallery in downtown Bakersfield to pay tribute to those who served during the Vietnam War.
March 29 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day, a day set aside once a year to recognize all Vietnam veterans, and to tell them, "Welcome home."
"As I look out at the audience today, I'm overwhelmed and humbled by the turnout by my brothers and sisters from all over Kern County who have attended," guest speaker and U.S. Army Gulf War veteran Deborah Johnson told the gathering.
On March 29, 1973, the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam, Johnson said. On and around the same day, Hanoi, the capital of what was then known as North Vietnam, released the last of its acknowledged prisoners of war.
"Today, 50 years later, is a day to observe the hardships and sacrifices made by 9 million Americans during the Vietnam War," Johnson said. "Let us remember the more than 58,000 service members whose names are etched in black granite on the wall at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C."
In fact, the downtown gallery's Vietnam War Memorial Room honors all local servicemen who were killed in the war. And during Wednesday's ceremony, a portrait of Kern County's 178th fallen serviceman from that war was unveiled for the first time.
Sgt. 1st Class Dwane Gene Howard had already served in the U.S. Army for nearly 10 years when he was sent to Vietnam in October 1968 as an armor crewman with the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment.
In February 1969, he was awarded a Purple Heart after suffering an injury. Howard was killed on April 21, 1969 in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam. Two months later, he was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces.
Although Howard had grown up in Pixley in southern Tulare County, he attended four years at Delano High School in Kern County, where he served in the school's Cadet Corps.
After consideration of these circumstances, the decision was made to include Howard as one of Kern's own, said U.S. Air Force veteran Armando Soliz, the gallery's director of operations.
On Wednesday, Howard's widow, Antje Bernhardt, was on hand to unveil Howard's portrait. The fallen soldier's daughter, Sherry Howard, was also present Wednesday.
Before the event was completed, several veterans read aloud the names of the 178 local Vietnam War dead. A bell rang out intermittently throughout the somber ceremony.
"Always remembered, never forgotten," the veterans said each time the bell was rung.
Never forgotten. It's a promise they insist must be kept.
Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC.
