Anyone who wore a small metal bracelet for years, with only the name, rank and missing date of a soldier, will know the importance of remembering those who fought during the Vietnam war.
There is a push now by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to collect photos and a bit of biographical information for each soldier left behind from that war.
And there are several missing photos from Hays County.
Recently, one newspaper clipping, of Manuel Gonzales, was brought to the Hays Free Press office for submission to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) and is already posted online and in the museum.
But more photos and information are being sought for these Hays County soldiers: Michael R. Dorman, Kyle; Edward J. Edmund, San Marcos; Edward R. Gaytan, San Marcos; Vicente R. Gonzalez, San Marcos, Richard Lopez, San Marcos; Felix Rodriguez, Hays; Homer D. Spring, Buda; Thomas N. Stiles, San Marcos; and Allen W. Thomas.
Photos and information on these soldiers can be sent to the Hays Free Press office in downtown Kyle for scanning, or emailed to [email protected]. In addition, information of each soldier’s story is being sought to be displayed in Washington D.C.
An education center at the Wall in Washington D.C. to house photos and information was constructed next to the memorial.
The Wall itself contains 58,300 names and the directors of the education center are trying to find the story behind each and every soldier. So far, VVMF has located photos for 38,300 of the names on the Wall.
Three states – New Mexico, Wyoming and North Dakota – have completed the task for getting photos for every one of their soldiers lost in Vietnam.
Other people around the nation – including many newspapers, including the Hays Free Press – have begun to make the push to complete this task. The Virtual Wall of Faces recently added Roland Ray of Houston, who fell in 1967.
The Wall in Washington D.C. was built in 1982 to honor Vietnam veterans.
More information about this project can be found at www.vvmf.org.
