For the Fourth celebrations in Thornton -- the spirit of a veteran returns via 'The Wall'

The spirit of Larry Branaugh will finally return to his hometown of Thornton this Fourth of July weekend. His younger brother, Jim, will be there to make sure he gets a hero’s welcome.

“This is kind of a homecoming. It’s very special,” says Jim, now a 63-year-old Arvada contract analyst who is also vice-chairman of the Thornton Veterans Memorial Foundation.

Branaugh’s group, in conjunction with Thornton, is bringing in a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall which stands in Washington. D.C. The mobile version of "The Wall," as it is known, is three-fifths the size of the original, and 280 feet long. It is tentatively scheduled to be on public display at the Thornton Multipurpose Fields, 108th and Colorado Boulevard, from July 3 until it is packed up around 8 a.m. on July 7.

Larry Branaugh’s name – along with at least four other Thornton natives who died during the Vietnam War -- is among some 58,000 etched in white letters against a blackened aluminum background.

His journey has been a long time coming.

The Branaughs – including Larry, Jim and their younger brother Don – settled into freshly-minted Thornton in 1954. Growing up, the boys knew just about everyone in the small city, graduating from high school a few years apart from each other in the early 1960s. As the clouds of the Indochina conflict drew over the country, Jim became the first of the three young men to enlist. He joined the Coast Guard in 1965, serving on sea-going vessels, but didn’t post to Vietnam. Larry's fate was different.

“Larry volunteered in 1966, and he became a helicopter pilot for the Army,” Jim says. Don also volunteered for the Army that year, heading to boot camp in Germany.

Of them all, Larry's path was the most dangerous. Those familiar with military history know how perilous it was to be a helicopter pilot in that war. Larry served nine months in combat, came home for some R&R, then returned to Vietnam. In April, 1968 – a month shy of his 25th birthday – Larry Branaugh died when his helicopter was hit by enemy fire.

It was not the first family tragedy. Don had suffered stress-related problems a year earlier, and spent his remaining years in a Veterans Administration hospital. Jim -- the only true survivor -- was given an early discharge after three years in uniform. He never lived in Thornton again.

Still, he's linked to history there. His memories may be shared by other residents, who certainly recall the men and women from the area who have served, and died -- like Larry Branaugh -- so others could enjoy the benefits celebrated on this holiday.

For veterans such as Jim Branaugh (and Weather Examiner Tony Hake, who is chairman of the Thornton foundation), bringing in a copy of The Wall is a chance to connect past duty with future opportunity. That's because their group hopes to raise $800,000 to build its own permanent monument near the Thornton Recreation Center at 110th and Colorado Boulevard. The effort, Branaugh says, has a long way to go, but they hope to highlight their plans at various ceremonies – including a 6 p.m. main stage presentation on the Fourth.

About 10,000 are expected to turn out for the city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration at 7 p.m.
Many will notice this temporary Wall at the site. Those who do can take a moment to run their fingers down the names of the fallen. Under the letter “B,” they’ll find at least one Colorado hero.

Jim Branaugh has already seen that name in Washington, D.C. -- ironically, Larry's birthplace. Perhaps a more telling moment will come at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 6, when the 101st Colorado National Guard Band performs "Taps" to mark the closing of the exhibit. In those moments, the Branaugh family may get closure, too, knowing that a young man from Thornton who died halfway around the world is honored at home.