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Newly Discovered Vietnam Monument Baffles Pennsylvania Community

A monument dedicated on Nov. 11, 1966,“to the men of Delaware County for their valiant service in Vietnam” was recently discovered beneath brush in an old bank parking lot in Chadds Ford,Pa., an area better known for memorializing the service of soldiers in another war: the 1777 Battle of Brandywine— which might help explain why it has a Revolutionary War–era cannon mounted on top of it.

The discovery of the stone memorial has sparked a great deal of interest.“Chadds Ford’s mystery monument may be the first memorial in the U.S. dedicated to Vietnam veterans,”said Rich Schwartzman of ChaddsFordLive.com.“But so far, no one has been found with any recollection of its dedication, and public records have revealed no information.” The monument is on private property belonging to a family who also know nothing of its history or existence. According to Schwartzman, the property owner only learned of the monument in August, when reporters contacted him.

The monument sits about 15 to 20 feet off the side of Rt. 202 on land that is slated for new commercial development. “Weeds are growing through the cracks of the old bank parking lot, and the monument itself is in poor condition,” said Schwartzman.

Perhaps most intriguing about the monument is its dedication date in 1966. While the conflict was rapidly intensifying in 1966, it was still relatively early in the war. According to Duery Felton, curator of the National Park Service’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection, the Delaware County memorial is now “in the lead” for being the oldest,“with the memorial in Wentzville, Mo., dedicated in 1967, a close second.”

Local and state representatives have discussed whether the memorial should be moved to a more public location, pending the property owner’s approval.“Two local businesses said they will pay for the move or institute local fundraising,” said Schwartzman.

Some have also expressed interest in keeping the memorial where it is, though it is in need of repair. “This monument could become an historic landmark, possibly being the first ever honoring Vietnam veterans,”said Patrick Hughes, a Vietnam veteran who visited the site in August, according to Schwartzman. “So, please, just keep it where it is.”

U.S. Begins Cleanup of Agent Orange in Da Nang

In August the U.S. began a landmark project to clean up dioxin left from Agent Orange at the site of a former U.S. base in Da Nang, where U.S. troops stored and mixed the defoliant before it was loaded onto planes. The $43 million joint project with Vietnam is expected to be completed in four years on the 47- acre contaminated site, now an active Vietnamese military base, according to The Washington Post. The U.S. and Vietnam plan to excavate 2.5 million cubic feet of soil and heat it to 635 F in special containers where the dioxin breaks down into oxygen, carbon dioxide and other elements that pose no risk. “We are both moving earth and taking the first steps to bury the legacies of our past,” said American Ambassador David Shear at the groundbreaking.

Laos Receives First Visit From a U.S. Secretary of State in 57 Years

In July Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a tour of Asia, visiting not only Vietnam and Cambodia but also Laos—the country’s first visit by a secretary of state in nearly six decades. The last top U.S. diplomat to visit Laos was John Foster Dulles in 1955. Clinton met with Laos Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and other senior government officials to discuss a variety of bilateral and regional issues. While there, Clinton toured a prosthetic center that builds artificial limbs for amputees, many of whom are victims of unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War.

The United States and Laos also “agreed to improve and further facilitate operations for American personnel still missing from the Indochina War era,” said a statement released following Clinton’s meeting with the prime minister.

Marine Killed in Last Vietnam Battle Is Buried

A Marine whose name was one of the last placed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, under the date 1975, was buried in San Diego in August, 37 years after he was shot down during the attempted helicopter rescue of the SS Mayaguez crew, which was being held captive by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge. Of the 11 helicopters involved in the attempted recapture of the ship and the rescue of its crew, eight were damaged or destroyed. Among them was “Knife 31,” shot down in the Gulf of Thailand, killing 13 of the 26 men on board, including Pfc Richard William Rivenburgh of San Diego.

Rivenburgh was listed as “body not recovered”until 2008 when his remains and those of three other Marines were recovered from Southeast Asia, the Marine Corps said. The military made positive identification in January.

Among those attending Rivenburgh’s burial was a group of Vietnam veterans who served during the Mayaguez rescue effort. “It’s been 37 years of praying and waiting,” said Tim Trebil, 56, who was a Marine private in the same CH-53 helicopter as Rivenburgh and was among the 13 men rescued from the ocean off Cambodia, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Until we bring them home,” Trebil said, “there’s no comfort for the family.”

War Hero Poser Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Theft

In spite of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 decision striking down the Stolen Valor Act and upholding citizens’ right to free speech, there are still laws on the books for civil and criminal fraud—obtaining some advantage or material benefit from propagating lies— that can be used against veteran impostors. A Tennessee man charged in District Court on August 24 with stealing from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration pleaded guilty to four of the eight counts against him and could face up to 30 years in prison when sentenced in December.

According to Knoxnews.com, Federal prosecutors said Charles Chester Kaczmarczyk, 59, an Air Force veteran who barely left U.S. shores and never saw a day of combat, swindled the government out of close to a half-million dollars in disability. Kaczmarczyk falsified combat records, faked papers for medals, including the Purple Heart and the Silver Star, and filed for veterans’ and Social Security benefits to the tune of nearly $458,000, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bolitho said.

Kaczmarczyk’s wife, Martha, 62, is also charged with falsifying documents and was to be tried in late September.

Kaczmarczyk has a long history of impersonating a war hero. In 2008 he spoke to a “captive audience” of University of Tennessee students, telling “story after story about his role in special operations missions over the past 30 years,”the University’s Tennessee Journalist reported on April 9, 2008, under the headline “Special Operations Air Force Chief Tells Stories About His Missions inVietnam,Iraq.” The article describes how “Kaczmarczyk discussed the final evacuation of Saigon in April 1975, the rescue of American citizens from Cambodia in 1975, a complicated rescue attempt to Iran in 1980 and a recently declassified military operation in Zaire in 1980.”

Full Metal Jacket Hits 25

When Stanley Kubrick’s Jacket Full Metal was released in 1987, it introduced to audiences a batch  of young Marine recruits whose bizarre Vietnam wartime experiences seemed to be an exaggeration of not just the Vietnam War, but all wars. Now, 25 years later, the film is being re-released on Blu-ray.

Also, to coincide with the anniversary, Matthew Modine, who played Private Joker, has created an Apple “appumentary,” Full Metal Jacket Diary, which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the making of the film. It features more than 400 personal photos Modine took while on the set in 1985, as well as audio commentary from Modine reading the actual production diary he kept during the filming. Proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.

 

Originally published in the December 2012 issue of Vietnam Magazine. To subscribe, click here.