* * *
Spring was in full bloom in Washington as the Presidential motorcade pulled up to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. He was ‘one of them’ and now the first Vietnam veteran President. The trip was made with great pain in his heart. All the President could think of was that race with Arvie - so many years ago.
A U.S. Parks Service guide offered assistance as The President entered the area. The Wall was located at the foot of The Lincoln Memorial. The black India granite stretches for several hundred feet and is inscribed with 57, 939 names of those killed or missing in the war.
He was emotionally consumed with the healing process and wanted this to be a very private experience. Privacy, however, was now a luxury. The American people and many countries of the world would once again become part of the painful Vietnam war.
It was to be a rare moment shared with the world as news crews from around the globe gathered on this hallowed ground. He would once again hear their helpless cries and feel the pain of the fallen comrades.
The President gave the attendant the name of a friend who died on January 24, 1969. It was a different time in his life. Back then, he was one of them - just an enlisted man. But now, this many years later the scrawny sergeant was now the President of The United States.
57,939 military personnel were killed in Vietnam. On this day, he was transformed into that 20 year old kid, frozen in time! All he could visualize was their young faces and how they became miserable victims of the war.
The President was not prepared for the trauma of seeing the names of his friends chiseled into the mirrored granite. A lump formed in his throat as he slowly spelled the name. The attendant, a former military enlisted man, saluted The President as he began to flip through the pages of his book - leading him to the list of names.
He moved his finger along the page until he found the name, glanced at The President over the top of his reading glasses and whispered:
“Here it is Mr. President.” Are you going to be alright?” the guide asked.
“I think so.” The President replied choking back tears.
By now, the attendant had already written the name and location of the deceased on a piece of paper and asked The President to follow him to the what he was about to witness.
appropriate section. With his heart pounding into his throat in anticipation of
With the Park Service guide now standing at his side, President Cunningham began at the top of the stone. The President darted and flashed his eyes in all directions and was having difficulty focusing on the name for which he had come to honor. If he could not see the name, then it must all be ok, and this was just a bad dream.
The guide placed his hand on The President’s and together they ran their fingers over the endless sea of names. It was evident The President noticed The name in the approaching line ahead, and the guide slowly broke free of The Presidents hand.
A rush of warm tears filled The President’s eyes, and he felt a banging sensation in his chest. In an instant, he began to sob! It was forty years later, and his hand was pressed into Arvie’s name.
The President flattened his hand on the name for what appeared to be an eternity. The guide had observed what he had witnessed so often since the erection of the memorial - a veteran in search of what he did not want to find…
Arvie (Arvid O. Silverberg), died in a fiery helicopter crash in Vietnam on January 24, 1968. The memories of their friendship and carefree youth are etched into The President’s mind - in much the same way it is etched into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Arvie is buried in the town cemetery in West Brookfield, Massachusetts within view of his boyhood home where he and Preston often played the game of war!
Copyright 1983
Robert Alan Chapin
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends