Tuesday, November 12, 1996
HOLIDAY:
Thousands gather at Vietnam War Memorial to pay respectsBy Gil
Hopenstand
Daily Bruin Staff
WASHINGTON — Attendees were drying their eyes long before Phan
Thi Kim Phuc spoke.
Thousands gathered at the Vietnam War Memorial Monday to
remember, bond and drink beer with fellow veterans. They and 58,000
others whose names are etched into the black, granite wall were
honored for "answering when called" and for sacrificing their today
"for our tomorrow."
Kathryn Ling, who volunteered as a nurse in Japan and Vietnam,
congratulated her fellow veterans for "conquering the war" and not
letting "the war conquer them."
But among the military speakers at the ceremony was Phan Thi Kim
Phuc, who was photographed at nine years of age running down a
Vietnamese highway after American troops napalmed the Buddhist
pagoda in which she and her family sought refuge. She underwent 17
surgeries and years of burn therapy to recover.
"I don’t want to talk about the war. I cannot change history,"
said Kim, now 32. "I just dream one day people can live in peace
 no fighting, no hostility."
Few could hold back tears as she quietly said, "Wars end. We
must begin the difficult process of forgiveness."
"I have no anger toward the United States, no anger toward
Vietnam, no anger toward the pilots who dropped the bombs," Kim
said.
While Kim survived to recently seek political asylum in Canada,
her two brothers were killed in the attack.
"I’ll never forget that picture (of Kim)," said Roger Thistle,
who has attended the annual ceremony for the past four years.
"I’m happy she’s put it behind her," said Rich Welch, who
proudly displayed the Purple Heart he earned during service in
River Division 53.
"I know guys who still haven’t."
One of those guys was Xavier Sanchez.
"I come here every year to visit my friends," said the
ex-Marine, now only fighting back tears. "Something strikes you
differently every time."
Like Kim, the veterans came to heal their wounds and pay tribute
sometimes from as far away as Hawaii and Australia. But whether
dressed in camouflage or head-to-toe leather, in a wheelchair or on
a Harley-Davidson, the veterans assembled to honor those who served
their nation.
"This is a very special place," said Tom Blankenship, from the
Seventh Calvary division in Mt. Gilead, N.C.
Indeed, many veterans praised the memorial, which was erected
near the Lincoln Monument in 1982.
"This is a field where strangers who only shared an experience
can comfort one another," Ling said. "Tears don’t touch the ground
because they’re caught on someone’s shoulder."