Between 21 and 23 May what is expected to be among the largest gatherings of Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans in U.S. history from Wisconsin and around the country will convene to be honored for their service and sacrifice for our country at LZ Lambeau in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The highlight of the weekend will be a keynote ceremony inside Green Bay’s legendary Lambeau Field the evening of 22 May. Named for the landing zones that military service members were deployed to during the war. Including the families and friends of attending veterans, the event is expected to draw approximately 100,000 people over three days.
My friend Donna Elliott who has spent the last 40 years trying to find her brother Jerry who became MIA on 21 January 1968 as part of a heliborne assault designed to reinforce my beleaguered garrison in Khe Sanh will be selling her recently published book about her travails. Keeping the Promise: The story of MIA Jerry Elliott, a Family Shattered by His Disappearance and a Sister’s 40 Year Search for the Truth will be on sale.
Donna will also have signed copies of my book Expendable Warriors: The Battle of Khe Sanh and the Vietnam War for sale (www.ExpendableWarriors.com). The two books are complimentary as Expendable Warriors puts Keeping the Promise in context.
Jerry Elliott’s case was designated as’ “Case 1000” by the Department of Defense. His fate is still uncertain, despite a determined quest for the truth by his younger sister Donna. The book recounts the frustration that met her at almost every turn from the POW/MIA bureaucracy. Her search has taken her from Washington to Vietnam several times. In the forward I commend this book to the nation so that it can understand demands that POW/MIA status places on families.
I would ask each of my readers to buy Keeping the Promise and to then consider the following:
"It is the dead who make the greatest demands on the living, and the return of our war dead is no exception. The bodies of those that perish in battle hold significance far beyond their mere physical properties. These bodies represent sacrifice, honor, and a pledge fulfilled to the people and government of the United States of America.
The dead themselves do not demand a proper burial, but the safe return of their remains is of paramount importance to the living. The survivors of that slain soldier need those remains to bring their grief to closure. We as a nation need to mourn our soldiers collectively and individually. Thus will soldiers risk their own lives to recover the bodies of the slain during and after a battle. The U.S. military follows a strict code of conduct concerning the retrieval of dead warriors and millions of dollars are spent every year to bring the fallen back home, with proper honors being rendered.
But what of those that are lost in battle without a full accounting? What of those Missing-In-Action (MIA) that left behind no body, no information, no hints as to their safety or death? What of those who leave behind only questions? For the families of these MIAs, the mourning never stops, and closure never comes."
The schedule for this welcome home for our Vietnam Veterans is:
• Vietnam War,” Thursday May 20
o Moving Wall ™ dedication at 4 p.m. at Lambeau
• Friday May 21
o Motorcycle Honor Ride from La Crosse to Green Bay
o Education Day (for students only) at Lambeau 8:20 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. [This event is full. We can not accept any additional tours nor can we host any unguided or walk-in tour groups.]
o Motorcycle Honor Ride arrives in Green Bay at 2 p.m. (estimate)
o LZ Lambeau opens to the public at 1 p.m.
? Motor pool, Atrium museum exhibits, Portrait Gallery, all exhibit
o Music stage begins at 3 p.m.
o Blood Drive from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the old Packer Hall of Fame
o Grounds of LZ Lambeau close at 10 p.m.
• Saturday May 22
o Aircraft exhibit opens at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
o LZ Lambeau grounds open to the public at 9 a.m
o Grand Entry at 9:30 a.m.
o Atrium opens; museum exhibits and Portrait Gallery at 9 a.m.
o Lectures in Atrium 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
o Music stage begins noon to 6 p.m.
o Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the old Packer Hall of Fame
o Tribute Ceremony in Lambeau Field at 7:30 p.m. (Buy tickets now!)
? Seating begins at 5:30 p.m.
o Aircraft Exhibit closes at 5 p.m.
o Music stage on grounds reopens 9:30 p.m. - 11 p.m
• Sunday May 23
o All exhibits at Lambeau open at 9 a.m.
o Motor pool, Atrium museum exhibits, Portrait Gallery, all exhibits & music stage
o Aircraft exhibit opens at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
o Ecumenical Service at 10 a.m.
o Grounds of LZ Lambeau close at 3 p.m
o "Wiping of the Tears” Ceremony at Oneida National Veterans Memorial Wall at 3:30 p.m. - open to all veterans
o Closing ceremonies for the Moving Wall™ at 4 p.m.
o Austin Straubel International Airport exhibit closes at 3 p.m.
I encourage readers to tell their friends not to miss this homecoming for our Vietnam Veterans. I also encourage those who cannot attend to let me put them in touch with Donna to make arrangements to get her book.
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