Vietnam Memorial Wall brings healing, memories and tears in Robertsdale
ROBERTSDALE, Ala. (WKRG) — “There he is right there,” a daughter said to her Dad. His finger trembles as he traces the letters of a familiar name, “That’s your friend? Aww, Daddy.”
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An experience repeated over and over as veterans are drawn to a memorial that is supposed to help heal old wounds.
“This gets next to me,” Vietnam veteran Glen Dunbar said. “A lot of young kids, 19 years old, shouldn’t be on the wall.”
All of the stories and emotions wrapped up in the 140 panels that make up the Wall that Heals are now on display around the clock at the Robertsdale Coliseum until Sunday at 2 p.m.
“It’s heart-wrenching,” veteran Ted Klein said. “I have tears coming to my eyes.”
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He was just 12 years old when his brother Daniel was killed. He stood by his name on the wall, remembering the Marine Corps car and a priest pulling up at his childhood home with the news.
The wall, he said, brings it all back. “This time it does because I guess I want to show everybody that it’s important to come out and see it.”
It’s an emotion familiar to all who visit this circle of sacrifice.
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“It’s a hard way to get remembered,” Peco Forsman said as he pointed out the name Carl O. Pearson, Jr., “but he’s remembered and that’s special.”
“It’s devastating but then it’s a relief to know that they are being honored,” Klein added.
Names of the fallen from 1959 to 1975 are etched in granite. All with a story, all still remembered and never forgotten.
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