The Vietnam Memorial Wall that was at the Beachmont VFW Post earlier this month like the Memorial in Washington, D.C., is powerful in its simplicity. The black wall with the names of the war dead and in some cases of local boys who were killed in that distant land is a reminder of the terrible price that is paid in war.
Growing up in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, television portrayed past wars as glorious and the soldiers as unemotional and detached. The true horror of war was not shown until almost 20 years later as sound effects and visuals in television shows like Band of Brothers or movies like Saving Private Ryan or Schindler’s List showed the painful reality.
For the soldiers whose names appear on the wall and those that survived, when they left their families their perception was that this would be a glorious war. However, the unspeakable horror of the Vietnam War made all too apparent the illusion of glory. Some escaped the reality in death, others through drug use that still effect them today.
We thank all the members of the Beachmont VFW and the Revere Veterans who gave of their time and energy to make this event so memorable. We hope that someday, the world will be a kinder and gentler place as it seemed to be when we were growing up.
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