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WILKES-BARRE — The Wall That Heals is coming to Plymouth in September.
My good friend, Clyde Peters — a Vietnam veteran and a true American hero — is spearheading the effort to bring The Wall to his hometown.
It will cost between $10,000 and $15,000 to bring the wall here, plus expenses. Clyde said about $8,500 has been raised so far. And a lot of volunteers will be needed to provide around-the-clock security and countless other tasks.
It’s a big effort — one that I am confident that Peters will be up for, along with all of those volunteers.
I have known Clyde Peters since we were in grade school. I remember him when every other kid in Plymouth was intimidated by him. Clyde was always a tough kid — and strong.
That street toughness paid off for Clyde when he was sent to Vietnam in the late 1960s.
Peters served his country with distinction. He was a member of Company A, 2nd Infantry Regiment, and Company A, 28th Infantry Regiment, of the U.S. Army when his unit was ambushed on Thanksgiving Day 1968.
Peters risked his own life to save a fellow soldier and he was wounded in action.
“I’m a Vietnam veteran who served in Vietnam in 1968-69 with the big Red One,” Peters told me. “I want to bring The Wall That Heals to Plymouth, a small town of 5,500 people. We lost seven brave men in the Vietnam War and I want to bring them home to Plymouth so people can honor them.
Peters said bringing the Wall to Plymouth means a lot to him because one of those young men killed in Vietnam was his nephew, David Lee, who was 18 when he was killed.
“I was in Vietnam when David was killed and I brought him home,” Peters said. “He was my sister’s son. I need this to happen to honor all those who gave there lives for us.”
By the way, Peters is the youngest of 17 children.
“We want to honor all of our fallen heroes from Plymouth and to honor all the fallen heroes of Vietnam and all wars,” Peters said. “We will never forget them and what they sacrificed for all of us.”
Seven young men from Plymouth were killed in Vietnam:
• Leonard Bish, Army, killed May 16, 1967.
• Sterling Coates, Marines, killed July 2, 1967.
• Frank Glowiak, Army, killed Oct. 27, 1966.
• David Lee, Army, killed April 22, 1969.
• Edison Phillips, Army, killed May 21, 1969.
• Joseph Sinkewicz, Marines, killed Feb. 26, 1968.
• Daniel Witko, Army, killed June 18, 1968.
So you can understand why bringing the Wall to Plymouth means so much to Peters.
So I asked him if visiting The Wall That Heals really does heal those wounds, physical and emotional, of the Vietnam War experience.
“I think it does help a lot of Vietnam veterans and their families,” Peters said. “It gives them some sense of closure. But I don’t think you really heal totally from war and combat. I’ve never met any Vietnam veteran who told me they have completely healed.”
That’s why it is so important to bring The Wall to Plymouth and to move it around the country so that all those surviving Vietnam veterans and the families of all those fallen heroes can visit it and gain some part of the closure that may never come.
Just a few days after the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we now turn our attention to healing the wounds suffered in all wars. Vietnam veterans never received a hero’s welcome home, but they surely deserved it. Help Clyde Peters bring The Wall That Heals to town.
To donate
Make your check payable to:
The Wall That Heals
c/o VFW Post 1425
111 W. Main St., Plymouth, PA 18651
The Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial along with a mobile Education Center. It will be staged at Huber Stadium, West Main Street, Sept. 5 through Sept. 8 and will be open 24 hours a day and free to the public.
The Wall That Heals honors the more than 3 million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Vietnam War, and it bears the names of the more than 58,000 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.
Peters said the wall will arrive in Plymouth on Sept. 3 with a full military escort.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most visited memorials in our nation’s capital, with nearly 5.3 million visitors each year. However, many Americans have not been able to visit Washington to see The Wall.
That’s why the mobile wall is so important.
And that’s why your help is so greatly needed.
