A time to heal
The traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall made a stop in Hanley Falls this past weekend, stirring up emotions for someBy Rae Kruger
Article Photos
HANLEY FALLS
Gordon Labat pointed to names of the deceased on the wall where his could have been.
Labat, of Phoenix Ariz. and formerly of Marshall, is a Vietnam veteran and was one of hundreds of people who visited the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall this weekend in Hanley Falls. The wall is a replica of the permanent memorial in Washington, D.C.
"Why did those guys die," Labat said. "I didn't get a scratch. It wasn't my time. It wasn't my time."
Labat had sprained his ankle that morning and typically would have been behind Gale R. Brown, one of seven men killed in his squad.
Brown died and the soldier behind him was injured, Labat said.
"That (expletive) still bothers me," Labat said.
Like many war veterans, Labat has carried the images, the stories and likely some survivor guilt with him in the decades following the war.
He brings that with him each time he visits the traveling memorial wall.
Eugene VanHeuvelen of Woodstock understands that well.
"It's very difficult to come, but it's something I had to do," VanHeuvelen said.
VanHeuvelen has visited the traveling wall twice, but this time he was alone.
Thankfully, he said, he ran into some friends who were at the wall in Hanley Falls the same night.
More than 58,000 names are on the wall. Names of sons, daughters, cousins and friends.
Jim Heisner of Clarkfield pulled out a piece of paper that listed in what section and row his friend was named.
"Donnis Willis of Winthrop Harbor, Ill.," Heisner said. "He is in section 28W, line 55."
Kayann Riecke of Clarkfield was an Army nurse and served during Desert Storm and she too, needed to see the wall.
"How many of those guys died and a nurse was the last one to see them," Riecke said. "How many thousands die in every war... You know it's not just a name of a person up there, it's a life. To think this is one person who might have discovered a cure for a disease or one person who never had a chance to have a family."
Such thoughts about strangers, family members, friends and follow soldiers brought tears to many who viewed the wall and read the names.
"My cousin is on there," Kathy Punt of Pipestone said as she cried. "His funeral was the first one I ever went to. It's mind boggling to me, all the names. I expected the letters to be bigger but that's so many names. I had no idea. A lot of families were touched (by Vietnam)."
Lives of family members, friends and soldiers that weren't the same, Labat said.
"I've been going to a PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) group all the time for the last five years," Labat said. "Back in 2002, I walked into a VA hospital and said I needed help."
Labat said veterans are good at not addressing or hiding the problems after war.
"You worked hard," Labat said. And in his case, he drank a lot. "I drank like a fish to try and drown it out. And finally, it catches up to you," Labat said.
Labat said younger, newer war veterans need to get help sooner. Soldiers in Desert Storm or returning from Iraq must get help if they need it, Labat said.
"It's gonna catch up to you. It will catch up to you," Labat said.
And part of his healing is to visit the traveling wall when he can, Labat said.
"I've gotta see my boys," Labat said.
Vietnam veteran Ray Pederson of Cottonwood understands the need to visit the wall. Pederson spoke at Friday night's ceremony at the wall. He has visited the traveling wall memorial and the memorial in Washington, D.C.
"I'm convinced the memorial is a wall of healing," Pederson said with an audience of several hundred in front of him and the wall behind him. He hoped those who visited the memorial in Hanley Falls would find some healing, Pederson said.
"I don't know," VanHeuvelen said through his tears. "Time will tell but there is healing by crying."
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volemt
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08-17-09 2:53 PM
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I so agree, rangeral. I cannot comprehend the sacrifice these men and women make for our freedom. God Bless You All!!
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rangeral
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08-17-09 10:17 AM
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Freedom is not free - God Bless America! I have a close friend with his name on the Wall. Just like 9/11, Never Forget!
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