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2001

VVA Chapter 11 and the Wall of Wars Memorial

BY MARC LEEPSON

The traveling replicas of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial—The Moving Wall, The Dignity Memorial Wall, the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, and The Wall That Heals—often have a profound impact on the people who pay their respects while the memorials are set up in their towns and cities.

That was the case in 2011 when the Dignity Memorial Wall arrived on the campus of the Northport VA Medical Center on New York’s Long Island. “It was amazing to see how The Wall touched so many people,” Rich Kitson, president of Suffolk County, New York, Chapter 11, said. “So a group of us got together and decided to build our own memorial honoring all veterans from all wars.”

That memorial came to fruition at Memorial Day ceremonies this year with the dedication of the Wall of Wars at Northport Medical Center near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Garden Walk. The walk, which was dedicated in 2009, is another Chapter 11-sponsored endeavor.

The twelve black granite stones that make up the Wall of Wars honor the service of America’s veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Indian Wars, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the first Persian Gulf War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Suffolk chapter, one of VVA’s oldest, mounted a successful fund-raising campaign that included options to underwrite the memorial’s granite benches, metal benches, decorative lamps, and bricks. The effort included countless volunteer hours put in by chapter members, the Northport Sea Cadets, members of the local Mormon Church, and the Northport VA’s Police Service and Grounds personnel, along with other local VSO members. There also was strong support from local businesses and individuals.

Corporate donors made significant contributions. Those funds, combined with the selfless work of chapter members, drove the memorial effort to its successful conclusion. “I can’t thank all the men and women of this chapter enough who have been tireless in their efforts to make this project come to fruition,” Kitson said. “Without the donors and without the dedication of our hard-working members such as Mike Williams, Tony Raiona, Clarence Simpson, and Bruce Antin, to name a few, we would never have met our completion deadline.”

The memorial, Kitson said, “represents Vietnam Veterans of America’s determination to embrace and support veterans of all wars returning home.” It is part of Chapter 11’s “continuing mission to honor, educate, and heal,” added Chapter Vice President Clarence Simpson.