'We are their legacy': As replica Vietnam memorial wall opens in West Dundee, veterans honor those who sacrificed in any conflict
Medal of Honor recipient Allen Lynch of Gurnee is passionate about honoring the sacrifice U.S. soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen made during the Vietnam War.
Especially since the country didn't do a good job of doing so when he was discharged.
"We (Vietnam War veterans) were an embarrassment to the older veterans," Lynch said. "We were an embarrassment to our peers (who didn't serve)."
But, he said, Vietnam War veterans have stepped up to help all veterans, regardless of when they served.
"We vowed one generation of veterans would never forget another (generation). We Vietnam veterans have never, ever done that," he told a crowd of hundreds gathered for the opening ceremony Thursday at The Wall That Heals in West Dundee.
The wall is a mobile three-quarter-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that stands in Washington, D.C.
Like the original, The Wall That Heals has engravings of the names of every military person who died as a result of service in the Vietnam War.
But Thursday's ceremony also honored the dead from many wars, as well as living veterans.
Those who had served, be it in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard, were asked to stand or wave as their branch's flag was lifted and a recording of their song was played.
Battlefield crosses in front of the stage - consisting of rifles, helmets, boots and a folded flag - honored the dead from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and the current war.
Wreaths were placed for several Illinoisans who died in Vietnam. One was in honor of the first Marine killed, Capt. Donald Koelper of Northbrook. He died in 1964 after warning a theater full of American military personnel that a Viet Cong agent had just activated the fuse on a bomb in the lobby. Koelper was posthumously promoted to major.
Another was for Roger Lee Wilson of Elgin, a Marine corporal killed in January 1968.
The ceremony also paid tribute to those who were prisoners of war or are still missing in action, with a symbolic dinner table set for members of each branch. The dinner plates were empty except for lemons and salt - the lemons reminding us of their bitter fate, the salt representing the tears of their loved ones.
"Remember, we are their legacy," said Albert Pacheco of Janesville, Wisconsin, who read the statement about the table. "Please don't let them ever be forgotten."
Pacheco was part of a team from Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 236 out of Janesville. It conducted much of the ceremony.
He was an Army sergeant, serving in 1966 in Vietnam. He became active in the VVA around 1989, he said.
"Two guys I knew are on there," he said afterward, pointing to the wall. "I'm the only guy that came out alive" after an attack on an armored personnel carrier in which they were riding.
The wall is on display through July 7 in Randall Oaks Park, 750 Randall Road. It is open all day and night. There is also an educational display in a trailer and a display of flags to honor people who are still listed as POW/MIAs from the Vietnam War.