Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • S p r i n g 2 0 1 7 56 JERSEY SHORE PROFILE THEIR STORIES ARE NOT SILENT, continued from page 55 The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial and the Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center are located next to PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, right off Garden State Parkway Exit 116. Both are operated by the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Foundation (NJVVMF), a non-profit organization that does not receive any funding from the State of New Jersey for their operations. The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Foundation's mission is to offer a meaningful and engaging experience that recognizes the sacri- fices, courage, and valor of Vietnam veterans while encouraging and fos- tering a thorough understanding of the Vietnam Era, including the polit- ical, historical, social, cultural, and military aspects, which affected New Jersey and the United States. NJVVMF Executive Director Bill Linderman, with both corporate and non-profit experience, came on board in 2009. "When I saw this place, I was just blown away by it. It's special. And I knew I wanted to be a part of it," he said. Linderman explained that coming to the Foundation made him more open about his own expe- riences in Vietnam. "I was in the Army in an ordinance outfit, and we offloaded and delivered ammunition and Agent Orange. I served, and it had a real impact on my life, but I never really associated with other Vietnam veterans when I returned. I just went on with my life and never talked about it," he said. The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial The Memorial not only memo- rializes and honors all of the New Jersey residents lost in Vietnam, but also gives visitors a visual impact of that massive loss. Designed by Hien Nguyen, a refugee who left South Vietnam in 1975, its two hundred foot, open-air circular pavilion con- sists of 366 eight-foot-tall black gran- ite panels, one for each day of the year (including February 29). Each panel is engraved with the names of the soldiers killed or reported missing on that date, and the May 7 panel, the day the war ended, points toward Vietnam. All 1,563 names are inscribed on the Memorial; thirty-six hail from Ocean County and ninety- eight from Monmouth County. As visitors walk around the Memorial, the sky and clouds above are reflected onto the granite giving the illusion that each name is float- ing in the sky. Out of the 366 panels, only nine are blank, meaning that there was only nine calendar days when no New Jersey residents were lost in the war. The Memorial is open to visitors 24-hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year and is free to visit. On the first Saturday of each month, volunteer Vietnam veterans give guided tours. It's the stories shared by the volunteer guides that really make a lasting impact. Curator Sarah Taggart said, "The dif- ference is, when you come here on a Saturday or with a group for a tour, you meet volunteers with a name and a face, and they tell you why this place matters to them. Everybody is touched in some form." One volunteer veteran is Dan O'Leary, who served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1966 with the Military Assistance Command Vietnam. O'Leary was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal and the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal for his service. Another volunteer veteran is Vernon O'Meally, who served in southeast Asia from 1968 to 1970 with a tour in AC-130 Spectre Gunships. O'Meally was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, seven Air Medals, the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the New Jersey Vietnam Service Medal. Taggart explained that to her, it's almost magical when visitors, espe- cially children and teenagers, listen to the stories told by volunteer veterans like O'Leary and O'Meally. She can see their faces change as they hear a first-hand account of what being in Vietnam was like, or what a vet- eran endured upon returning home, which is quite different from veterans returning home from wars and con- flicts today. "They listen, and they get it, and the experience is so much more than what they read about in a classroom," she said. The Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center The Museum & Educational Center is located just a few short steps away from the Memorial and provides political, cultural, and historical context for the Memorial. It was dedicated in 1998 and was the first museum of its kind in the United States. The Museum & Educational The memorial, designed by Hien Nguyen, a refugee who left South Vietnam in 1975, is a two hundred foot, open-air circular pavilion consisting of 366 eight-foot-tall black granite panels, one for each day of the year with 1,563 names inscribed. Jill Ocone

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