Veterans’ Wall Replica Goes Back on Display

A single red rose in her hand, Joanne Wilson of Oxnard looked over the thousands of names before her, searching for the one that counted most.

She found it on Panel 20: David Wilson II.

“He was only over there for 4 1/2 months,” Joanne Wilson said of her son, one of more than 58,000 soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. “We saw the original (memorial), but this one is pretty impressive.”

Hundreds of people crowded the south lawn of the Ventura County Government Center on Sunday to welcome the return of the half-size Vietnam Veterans Memorial and recognize those who have fought for their country. The wall was last in Ventura County three years ago.

Sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of Ventura County, the replica wall will be on display through Sunday.

“It’s therapy for me,” said Stan Holladay of Ventura, who hooked up phone lines and other communications for the U. S. Army when he was in Vietnam. “It’s remembering the loss of a lot of good friends and overcoming a lot of hardships.”

Like others at Sunday’s ceremony, Holladay knows exactly how long he spent in Vietnam: “Ten months, 29 days,” he said, listening to an address by James Delker, commanding officer of the Naval Construction Battalion Center at Port Hueneme.

“I’ve got a few friends up there,” Holladay said, motioning to the wall.

Richard Camacho, president of the nonprofit Vietnam Veterans of Ventura County, said the replica would help heal some of the wounds that are still festering among many veterans, decades after the war.

“Those who can’t make the journey to Washington can see it here,” Camacho said. “And it helps the local vets make peace with themselves.”

Nearby, Joe Saenz of Ventura was scanning the wall for names he might recognize.

“They were men who died for what they believed in,” said Saenz, a former Air Force helicopter gunman, who was shot down twice during the 18 months he spent in Vietnam.

“We were supposed to have a barbecue when he came back,” Saenz said of his friend, Clarence Young. “But he never came back.”