BY KYLE LOVERN
Growing up in the 1960s, I paid attention to current events even though I was young – especially the Vietnam War, which was in full swing from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.
I remember watching Walter Cronkite on the news and some reporters in-country bringing home the news of Southeast Asia and the conflict.
Many teenagers spent their senior trips going to boot camp and then being shipped to Vietnam to fight a war many were against.
West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. In total, 36,578 West Virginians served during the Vietnam War, and most of them began as teenagers. Of those, 1,182 died.
The Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial overlooking the state capitol honors the 125,000 Kentuckians who served the nation between the years 1962-1975. It contains the names of 1,109 Kentuckians killed in the Vietnam War.
Burying fathers, sons, husbands and brothers was a common occurrence during the war.
This weekend we will remember family members who have passed on, especially those who served and died fighting for our freedom and way of life.
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is a federal holiday in the United States to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. From 1868 to 1970, it was observed May 30.
There were 58,220 deaths of United States military personnel during the Vietnam War. More than 211,000 were wounded.
Opposition to the war in the United States bitterly divided Americans, even after President Richard Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords and ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973. Communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South Vietnam in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year.
I consider myself lucky that the war ended around the time I turned 18. I was one of the few who didn’t have to register for the draft. There was a five-year period following Vietnam when the government suspended the Selective Service and draft registration. But it crossed my mind, and I even talked to my dad about it. He had fought in World War II and did not want me to go. However, I was patriotic and would have gone if I had been called.
As we’ve seen throughout history, Appalachian citizens have always fought valiantly in war, including WW I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam and the conflicts we have had in the Middle East.
Military personnel from Martin County and Mingo County who died in the Vietnam War include:
Danny Russell Ward of Beauty, J. Andrew Horn, William Howard Stepp and James Lloyd Stewart, all of Inez, Roe Hopson Jr. of Milo, Thomas Randell Ramey of Tomahawk, Arley Abraham, Rell Crigger, Raymond Highley, William Wayne Lester, William Eugene Null, Lawrence B. Prater and Marvin Blair Stuart, all of Williamson, Howard William Bannister of Delbarton, Danny Martin Hayes of Edgarton, Robert Goodman Jr. of Gilbert, Lawrence Henry Jackson of Red Jacket, David Kiser of Matewan, Edward Parsley of Naugatuck and John Paul Stepp of Kermit. (Note: Abraham’s hometown was listed as Madison in Boone County, but he spent time in Williamson as a youth.)
The many lives lost in the long conflict were harsh for all involved. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has estimated that 200,000-250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war.
As we head into the Memorial Day Weekend, it is a time to reflect and remember those who served in all wars.
(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)