More than a hundred people gathered at the Town of Wallkill Memorial Park on April 30 to celebrate the unveiling of a memorial wall dedicated to Vietnam War veterans.
The effort to build the wall started about 30 years ago by a local veteran, Mike Cody, who fought and was badly injured in Vietnam and came back home to taunts and jeers.
For more than 20 years, Mr. Cody sold T-shirts and coins, and fellow supporters hosted fundraisers in the community to help pay for half the costs of the memorial wall. About a year ago, state lawmakers stepped in to fill the gap and deliver a home run.
When it came to the culmination of unveiling the wall, Mr. Cody made it clear that it was everyone who had chipped in that made it happen.
“I just want to tell you that it was your money and your donations that made this park,” Mr. Cody said at the dedication ceremony. “It is not my park. It is your park.”
Town Councilman Mark Coyne, who stepped in to help Mr. Cody with fundraising about two years ago, read aloud a long list of individuals who had helped with the wall project.
“I was born in 1974, so I don’t remember any of this, but I know that these soldiers came home, and they were spat on and treated like garbage,” Mr. Coyne previously told The Epoch Times. “I can remember all the wars that have taken place since the Gulf War, and we just treated our soldiers completely differently than what the public did to the Vietnam veterans.
“I think [the wall] is a big thank you to them.”
State Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, who helped secure a $175,000 state grant to complete the wall, said they were merely doing their job in channeling taxpayers’ money back to their communities.
“No one should thank us,” Mr. Skoufis said at the dedication ceremony. “This is not our money. This is your money and your tax dollars that you send to Albany that we were happy to bring back for this incredible project that we stand behind here.”
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus noted at the ceremony the growing public appreciation for Vietnam veterans and told a story of his military friend to illustrate the point.
“My buddy got off a plane in Baltimore, and a guy came up to him and said, ‘I want to give you a hug and kiss. I mistreated so many veterans in the late 1960s. I can never go back and find out who they were, but if I can make it up with you to pay it forward,’” Mr. Neuhaus said.
“I thought that was the most incredible story.”
“Thank you for not giving up on this wall,” town of Wallkill Supervisor George Serrano said at the ceremony. “We as a community need to and will support our veterans. Because of their ultimate sacrifice, we are able to live in this great country. Thank you for your ultimate sacrifices.”
Any veteran or family members of veterans who served in the Vietnam War can contact [email protected] to have their names put on the memorial wall.
