Today's good news comes from Jack from Milford, Pennsylvania. These are his words.
"It started several years ago with a news story on CBS Sunday Morning that featured an interesting service project run by the National Park Service in Washington, DC, the washing of the Vietnam Memorial Wall on weekends throughout the summer months by volunteers.
Having been a teenager growing up during the mid 1960s at the height of the Vietnam War and having a cousin, as well as numerous friends who served in Vietnam during that time, the story caught my interest immediately. I had gone to Xavier High School, a Jesuit school in New York City, with a military tradition that dated back to the school's founding in 1847. In addition to its college preparatory curriculum, students participated in a junior ROTC program that included studies in military drill run by the students, as well as courses in military science that were taught by regular active duty US Army personnel.
As you might imagine, those high school experiences left us all with a special connection to the war and to those who fought in it, and after discussing the idea with a few of my former classmates, we agreed that a service project such as this one would be an ideal way to honor the memory of not only those who gave their lives, but also all those who served in the armed forces. We therefore decided that we would volunteer on behalf of our entire graduating class and a fellow alum and I partnered together to put things in motion for us to participate the following summer. Initial response from our alumni colleagues was very positive, although considering the distance to be traveled from the New York, New Jersey area and the final date we were able to arrange, the size of the group we were able to assemble was small.
Upon arrival at the memorial, we joined together with other individuals and groups who were scheduled to volunteer on that day. Once we were assembled, the park ranger took a moment or two to explain how he became involved in the work and what that responsibility of leading the initiative has meant to him.
He then gave us an opportunity to share something about our group, as well as any individual thoughts we had about why we chose to volunteer. Some were there to honor those who served, others were there to give something back, and others were there to reflect on friends or family members who served or who may have died and were honored with their names on the wall.
Once the period of sharing concluded, participants were given buckets and brushes and divided into two groups, each starting at opposite ends of the wall. It was heartwarming to experience the camaraderie and energetic spirit that prevailed among all of us, and we found ourselves lingering for a while to continue our conversations with those who we had only just met an hour earlier that morning.
We are presently finalizing our plans to make our fourth trip later this June.
Even though it has been more than 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War, the memories of that conflict and that particular period in my life are always present somewhere in my thoughts through the newsreels, the photos, the music, the demonstrations, and the protests, and the stories of those veterans who were fortunate enough to return and who were courageous enough to share their story with others.
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