May 07, 2008
Stars and Stripes|by Joe Gromelski

WASHINGTON — The names of four U.S. servicemembers who died years after they were wounded during the Vietnam War are being added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial this week.

In a ceremony Wednesday morning at the Wall, the widow of one of those added — Raymond C. Mason — was on hand to talk about her husband and watch as stoneworker James Lee sandblasted the Marine lance corporal's name onto panel 41E, line 64.

quote:

"I can't ever put it into words,"

said Priscilla Mason, from Riverside, R.I., said after watching Lee at work.

quote:

"My first reaction was, he's finally home.

quote:

"They were able to put him chronologically where he would have been if he had died Feb. 28, 1968, when he was shot. My first thought was, I wonder how many of those names (on panel 41E) did he know.

"I'm sure he feels he's home, too."

Raymond Mason, confined to a wheelchair since he was wounded, died May 28, 2006.

The other three men added to the Wall this week are Marine Lance Cpl. Richard M. Goossens, Army Spec. 4 Dennis O. Hargrove and Army Spec. 4 Darrell J. Naylor.

All met the criteria of having died as a result of wounds sustained in the combat zone of Vietnam.

quote:

In addition, crosses next to the names of 13 men signifying that they were missing in action are being changed to diamonds, signifying confirmed deaths, after their remains were returned or accounted for. They are James Henry Ayres, Douglas Craig Condit, Richard William Fischer, Dennis Clark Hamilton, Perry Henry Jefferson, Michael John Masterson, Maurice Henry Moore, Warren Robert Orr, Jr., Alton Craig Rockett, Jr., Stephen Arthur Rusch, Sheldon D. Schultz, Charles Wayne Stratton and James D. Williamson.

On Wednesday, a brief ceremony featured remarks by Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund president Jan C. Scruggs, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson, architect J.C. Cummings, James Lee and Priscilla Mason. Then, Lee settled down in front of the Wall with a sandblasting device that scoured the black granite surface beneath a stencil bearing Raymond Mason's name. Lee paused several times to check the depth of the lettering with a micrometer; the engraving must be accurate to within a thousandth of an inch to ensure that the name will blend in with the ones around it in various lighting conditions.

After polishing the stone to clean off the dust, Lee helped Priscilla Mason make pencil-and-paper rubbings of her husband's newly-inscribed name

Welcome home bothers!

The Wall

For those of us that haven't had the opportunity to visit the Wall in person, this link is a good start in understanding the magnitude of it all.

quote:

MARVIN REX YOUNG


SSGT - E5 - Army - Regular
25th Infantry Division

Length of service 1 years
His tour began on Oct 20, 1967
Casualty was on Aug 21, 1968
In TAY NINH, SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY
GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE
Body was recovered

Panel 47W - Line 24

MOH citation link:


http://thewall-usa.com/mohrec.asp?recid=150&servid=57935

quote:

ANONYMOUS AND GRATEFUL
WHAT A HERO! SO YOUNG! SO BRAVE! HOW CAN IT BE THAT SOMEONE SO YOUNG CAN GIVE THEIR LIFE FOR FREEDOM AND SO FEW ACKNOWLEDGE HIS SACRIFICE. SOME OF US CARE. THANK YOU SEEMS SO INADEQUATE BUT IT'S ALL I HAVE.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006