The Myrtle Beach Vietnam Veterans Memorial Dedication Ceremony May 23, 2026

In this special broadcast edition, we bring you the full dedication ceremony for the new Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Myrtle Beach — a moving and heartfelt tribute honoring the service, sacrifice, and enduring legacy of the men and women who served during the Vietnam War.

More than a monument unveiling, this ceremony was a message from an entire community:

Welcome home.
 You are appreciated.
 And your service will never be forgotten.

Sponsored by the Military Appreciation Committee of the City of Myrtle Beach and the City of Myrtle Beach itself, the ceremony brought together veterans, public officials, families, and community members in a shared expression of gratitude and remembrance.

Featured addresses include remarks from:

• Mayor Mark Kruea
 • Myrtle Beach City Councilman and Vietnam Veteran Bill McClure
 • Redevelopment Authority Director Buddy Styers
 • James Livingston, Major General, USMC (Ret.)
 • Veteran Barbara Hunter
 • Project Manager Chris Miller

Host Randal Wallace also tours both the new Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Myrtle Beach’s World War II Memorial — which our program previously featured during its dedication ceremony several years ago — reflecting on the city’s growing effort to honor America’s veterans in lasting and meaningful ways.

Special thanks as well to Meredith Denari, Public Information Officer for the City of Myrtle Beach, for hosting the event with professionalism and warmth, and to Festive Brass, whose musical performances added dignity, patriotism, and emotion throughout the ceremony.

This episode is about memory.
 About gratitude.
 And about ensuring that those who served are recognized not only for their sacrifice abroad, but for the lives they carried home afterward.

From Myrtle Beach to all Vietnam veterans:

Thank you for your service.
 And welcome home.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hey everybody, this is Randall Wallace, and I am at the World War II Memorial here in Myrtle Beach for the Memorial Day ceremony, where today they're going to be dedicating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ceremony. It will begin at 11 a.m. But right now it's about uh 9.40. And so the Veterans March is going on from Valor Park here to Warburg Park. And then the ceremony, which is uh gonna happen over here, and I'll turn you as slow as you can see that they're starting to get ready for the new Vietnam Veterans uh Memorial dedication. And uh we're gonna come back to you uh when that starts live here in just a little bit and carry it for you right here on Facebook. And we're excited about this uh uh this park opening up and we're here right now and I'm behind it because I didn't want to like have a lot of people listening to me while we recorded this for you. But we're at the World War II Memorial, which is also at uh Warburg Park that was dedicated almost a year or so ago. We'll be back in just a little bit. And today is a very special look back at Memorial Day 2026, May 23rd at 11 a.m. Uh the Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Dedication Ceremony was held in Myrtle Beach at Warbird Park, presented by the Military Appreciation Committee for the City of Myrtle Beach. And it was quite a moving day. Uh there uh they had done the uh the the march from Valor Park over to to Warburg Park. And then they had a very, very good uh ceremony opening up the new Vietnam War Memorial. That is a beautiful, beautiful thing to see, and I would advise any of you here in Myrtle Beach to if you and if you're coming to Myrtle Beach, to go down there and take a look at it, it is it is really something. And while you're there, they have a a couple of other monuments there, and the two airplanes uh that are there from uh from the days of the airbase. Uh there's a there's an atomic uh war memorial there for the for those who weren't on the atomic bomb project, and of course the World War II memorial that just opened a couple years ago that we have in our back catalog if you'd like to go back to that event. So I thought we would uh uh let you enjoy this event for those who could not be there. And we're also gonna take you on a tour of the World War II memorial and the new Vietnam Memorial before we go. Um of course this is an audio show, so uh the but the videos are available for the moment on the Grand Strand politics uh page if you want to go over there and take a look at the videos and just see the actual C the Two memorials. Uh with that, let's go back in time to May 23rd and take a tour of the World War II Memorial before we head in to the to the event itself. Alright everybody, uh I am now at the World War II Memorial, and I don't know if many of you folks have had a chance to come out here. We did this early on when uh when we were when it was first dedicated. But this is the World War II Memorial here in Myrtle Beach. And uh we had and this is a plaque right here with all the veterans from World War II, including Mayor Bob Hirsch, who we um who we did a series on uh last year. Uh but uh they were the ones who came and dedicated uh this memorial years ago. And you know, I've got the camera kind of where I can't see it. But uh, if you haven't been out here, this is a really, really spectacular um place. Uh and I would advise you to come out and take a look at it. They even got, if you are familiar with the one in Washington, D.C., one of the famous kineroids, hopefully it'll show you, um, which were on the bottom of some of those troop ships. One of the guys that was helped build those ships kept putting those on like little graffiti um on the on the troop ships, and so the troops started going around and writing them, uh putting them, drawing them on things when they were invading Europe and in, I guess, in the Pacific as well. Um here is the monument for if you haven't seen it. We'll try to do this a little bit, but this uh monument commemorates the Myrtle Beach community's role in preparing our nation's uh defenses during World War II. We honor those who fought bravery, bravely, overseas, then on the home front here, and there are plaques to every uh different things here, and I'm gonna try to get it so you can see it. Um hopefully you can. I'll probably be checking this video out later because we're gonna try to make a podcast of today's events from all this. Um But there's one here for the Army Field that was here years ago. Of course, I've got you know some pictures of the different ships and the flights and all that, and uh and there's a sculpture with the plane, if you haven't seen that. Um try to get this in a picture which I thought was pretty cool with the sculpture. And then, of course, another plaque over here with the flights and the tanks. And then finally another plaque with more than 180,000 South Carolina who entered the armed services during World War II. So if you get a chance to come out here, it's uh well worth it. And then and then if you're out at Warburg Park, they have some other things that we will find pretty neat, including airplanes from the from the days when this was an Air Force base in Myrtle Beach. And of course, now you've got um this monument, there's one to the folks who worked on the atomic bomb and the atomic project, uh, and then um, of course, the new Vietnam Memorial, which is coming up today. And just so you kind of know what's gonna be on there, it starts at 11 a.m. It'll be presented by the Military Appreciation Committee, and there'll be uh remarks from uh Meredith Denary, who's the public information officer. Uh there will be um uh Mayor Mark Crewe is gonna speak. Uh the Festive Brass will be here. Um Buddy Styres is going to speak about the role of the Middle Beach Air Force Base during the wars, and especially, of course, of the uh the Vietnam War. Uh, how the memorial came to be from Chris Miller, who was the infrastructure projects manager, and Bill McClure, the Vietnam veteran, who is a city council member, is going to speak. And we're going to try to carry all that live at 11 o'clock here, and uh, and then we'll probably put something together tonight so that we can get you uh you can listen to it there. And I can't say I do a very good job with the camera work, but we do the best we can around here. It's uh it's a one-man show. All right. Thanks. And we will be back for the ceremony at 11 before I plug into the uh to the ceremony. I thought I'd let you know, okay, you're gonna hear first from Meredith Denary. She is the public information officer for the city of Myrtle Beach. Then Mayor Mark Cruell will speak. Uh and you will then hear from uh Buddy Styers, who is the head of the Myrtle Beach area uh the uh redevelopment authority, uh which uh is a big part of uh what is happening out there. Uh he's been the guiding force for Mark and Common and all the the redevelopment things that went on uh uh for years at the Air Force Base. And he's gonna talk a little bit about uh the role of the uh Myrtle Beach Air Force Base uh in the war in Vietnam. Uh and then uh you'll hear from Chris Miller, who was the City of Myrtle Beach's infrastructure uh projects manager about how it uh came to be. And uh City Councilman Bill McClure, who is a Vietnam veteran, will speak. Uh he does a really nice job. Uh and so does a lady named Barbara Hunter, who was uh in the U.S. Air Force and she's retired. These are family of veterans who who will have memories of of their time in the service. And then we'll hear from Major General James B. Livingston, uh, who was uh uh Medal of Honor winner, and he was presented to him by President Richard Nixon. And uh that's a familiar name for anybody who's on the Wallace Podcast Network. We've we have a sister show called the Richard Nixon Experience, so we will invite you to come and learn a great deal about Richard Nixon. You'll learn way more. It'll change what you thought of Richard Nixon if you go and tune into our show. We we really we go through about two hundred and something episodes just on him and his career and his life. Um but he was the one who uh honored uh General Livingston, and this speech is very good that he will give. Uh and so that's how you know who is speaking, and American is the young lady that is in between all of them. So with that, let's go back to May 26th, earlier uh on Memorial Day at 11 a.m. for the grand opening of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and this dedication ceremony.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Lots of things today, so thank you for our military appreciation members. And now that about wraps it up for me. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce Mayor Mark Rua, who gives the welcome on behalf of the city of Myrtle Beach.

SPEAKER_05 11:11

Thank you, Merida. Welcome, distinguished guests, Vietnam veterans, all of our veterans, all of the families on behalf of the City of Myrtle Beach, the Myrtle Beach City Council, our Military Appreciation Days Committee. We welcome you to this new Vietnam Veterans Memorial. You were here a few short years ago with the dedication of the World War II Memorial, so we've added an impressive addition to Warburg Park here. Thank you again for being here today. That you are here today as testimony of your service and recognition of your service and of the history of the Hermes Air Force Space. It's been on more significantly, and we'll give somebody a little while. Is Memorial Day a somber occasion when our country remembers and honors the more than one million U.S. servicemen and women who died during all the wars that our nation has fought? They made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf during those wars. They answered the call with their family's support, but they did not see it home again. Thank you, Commander Kirch, for being here today for your service during the Second World War, and to those who served alongside you as well, and in Korea. I'm a child of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. My dad served in the Air Force. I was born on an airport space, one not as pretty as this, I'm fairly sure. My dad saw service in Korea post-the-Korea War. But we grew up with the Vietnam War. Twenty years worth of the Vietnam War. Two wars are popular, not too many wars as popular. Certainly the Vietnam War was not among those that had consistent public support, and yet the men and women who responded, who answered the call, served with honor and dignity and protected freedom around the world. The Vietnam War was in our living rooms through the national news daily for 20 years. It started in 1955 and ended in 1975, just about 20 years worth. That it wasn't popular was not the fault of the men and the women who served in the Armed Forces. They did their job, they did their duty, and we thank them today and welcome them home. Let this new memorial at Warberg Park in Myrtle Beach be our thank you to you for your service. We could not have done it without you. Your efforts and your willingness to stand up and do the right thing are recognized and honored with this memorial here today. We also thank your family members and your friends for their support. And we recognize that there are friends and family and neighbors who did not come home. 58,281 of them are listed on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. So again, thank you to the Blue Star Mothers for my pocket today. We appreciate your attendance and look forward to your enjoyment of this. It is Memorial Day, a sombre occasion. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

I'd like you to take a moment to introduce our first guest today, my friend, from her. And her numerous military honors, including the Leach of Merit and Bronze Star Medal. In 2024, he received South Carolina's highest civilian honor, the Order of the Calmetal, from the governor, for his decades of service to the Middle East and Maritime community. Please welcome my friend Buddy Silas.

SPEAKER_06 19:55

Welcome home, brothers, and welcome home, sister, to each and every one of you. Each and every one of you. I have not forgotten that walking through San Francisco Airport one night at the end of September 1970. I myself in a summer unicorn, in a summer uniform. I did not get home until nightfall the next day. Had to sleep and tunnel by myself at one end of the company. It was not enjoyable, and the people did not like to know me. And I want to spend half of time and talk about one of these airport space. His green man was a man who named Poncho Pesco. Everybody locally knew Pancho. So halfway into retired as a majority. Joe is so came back to where we should live. Poncho retired as a full form and became the cost directors of these work exposures. But the construction was finally finished in about 1958, 800 family homes, plus four, plus partial recognition programs, and the offices to support the partial funds for late systems and eight years. We were very fortunate because the next thing that happened is that 354 catalog me were pointed to be post-united at More Beach. And that partnership with More Beach and the 354 lasted until exposure in 1993. They went to school with us, we play sports with them, and they were important to very difficult role in the growth population. Over 600 earlier victories against the classes. We were happy to have them, and it had a lot to enhance the image of World Beach. Three of the startings were transferred to Thailand, the Tai Airbase, and Iraq Airbase. And one was transferred to South Vietnam and Tan Ray Airbus. It was sent for specific missions of search and rescue and fire suppression missions. And obviously succeeded very well. It was a sad day for our community when Mother Beach was chosen to be closed. Many very important people in our community tried to get a change. I got into this job in August of 1995 and thought it maybe the first time I spoke, somebody asked me how much damage Cosby was going to do to go in. Without even thinking that we should be shaking somewhere in the middle. However, I said it won't matter. Two things. Number one, the real Walking Party is going to do everything possible to keep and enhance the image of the Air Force officers quite here. And you will see from this part as well as North. What Air Force Office is there. And so we have those hands. We have a recent call not to be airport. Shotgun over the mall of her. The next one I want to push you to the Air Force captain, Sam Peach. Sam has touched him as a fight at the battle of K-Sign. And he was shot down in Kill. For Sam's service that day, he received a distinguished fine pause and a silver star. And I would like to introduce you to Shelby, who stands very submitting beside Melbourne, who was married to Sam at that time. And Sam ate his life, and Shelby's with us today. Thank you, Shelby. We had a young man named James Taylor, nicknamed Tony. Great catcher on the baseball team for two years. After being married locally and living here at the beach as a policeman, he left and went to Atlanta to join the army and three helicopters. He ultimately was shot down and killed five helicopters. And then one more. His assignment in Vietnam as a command site was too interject and put you in trail back on the airs and border. He came home unhurt. And it did to a two years later. My best friend, and he will never be forgotten by the past minutes and me. Lord, God bless all Cold Star families and bless the United States of America.

unknown 30:36

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 30:50

Thank you, buddy. Chris Miller has now retired after 35 years at the city of Myrtle Beach. However, he was the head of this project here behind me for the city. He's worn many hats over the years, most of them hard hats during his projects at the city. From water and sewer to capital projects, he's played a key role in the projects since the 1990s. It's everything from the memorials you see here at Warburg Park to our ocean outfalls and our big stormwater projects that help the city to keep from flooding when we have these big hurricanes. Please welcome Chris Moore.

SPEAKER_07 31:38

Welcome everyone. Today we gather with gratitude, humility, and remembrance as we honor the men and women who served during the Vietnam War. This memorial stands not only as a stone and inscript not only as stone and inscription, but as a lasting symbol of courage, sacrifice, and devotion to country. This project has been a three-year journey. This project has been a three-year time. What we see here today is more than the structure, but it's a result of dedication from many individuals on the design team who believe these heroes should always be removed. This memorial design would take by valuable input of our local veterans and the support of our community, who shared their vision and commitment to help bringing this project to life. Their voices, experience, and passion ensured this memorial would truly honor those who served and sacrificed. Along this journey, we were fortunate to work beside an outstanding team whose professionalism, craftsmanship, and commitment helped bring this memorial to life. We would like to recognize the team behind the project, Jessica Wise, the lead landscape architect with DRG Engineering, Mike Rollinson with GF Architects, the team at Monteith Construction, Melton Electric, Aggressive Concrete, the team at Pure Green Landscaping, Laser Imaging and Design out of Ohio, Jones Metalcraft out of Conroe. Today we also have Tom Gallo, who is our artist working on our sculptures. You can see renderings behind me of the sculptures. Those are currently in production right now. The pictures are placed where the sculptures will be. We plan on revealing those on Veterans Day this year. The schedule is pretty aggressive, as you see with groundbreaking of January 7th. We sit here at the beginning of May. We have a very impressive schedule. Unfortunately, the Foundry couldn't meet our schedule, so we're going to go ahead and do this in September, I mean in November. DL Sightwork and Myrtle Beach Showcase for their partnership and dedication throughout the project. Thank them all for their passion and dedication to the memorial. For many of these companies, the employees took the job personally. Not just the job, but personally, as they wanted the monument to be the absolute best for our veterans. Thank you for this. Unfortunately, over the past three days, our team has scrambled to complete the final quote on the front of the memorial. Due to unforeseen circumstances, and I won't get into any details, the priority shipment was not delivered on time. So I'd like to take a moment to read the quote that will be installed on the front of the wall that should be installed later this week. The quote is as follows. And honoring those who answered the call of duty, we do not honor war, but we honor the peace they sought, the freedom they fought to preserve, and the hope that they held out to a world that's still struggling to learn how to settle differences among people, among nations, without resorting to finance. This was a quote from President Jimmy Carter. For many Vietnam veterans, for many Vietnam veterans, the road home was not easy. Yet though through hardship, service, and perseverance, they carried the weight of duty with honor. Today we pause to recognize their bravery, to remember those who never returned, and thank those who did and to stay welcome home. This memorial reminds us that freedom is never free. Behind every name, every story, every uniform is a family, a community, and a life dedicated to something greater than self. As we dedicate the Vietnam Veteran Memorial, may we never forget the sacrifices that were made, the lessons carried forward, and the enduring legacy of those who served and the members who did not make it back and those still missing. Even though I never served in the military, it has been a great honor for me to serve the veterans of the community. I hope that we have made this place for you to remember, reflect, and be proud, and for the younger generation coming up to learn about the conflict. God bless you all. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

Our next speaker is Bill McClure, who's a current Myrtle Beach City Council member. He's also a U.S. Army veteran and a Vietnam vet himself. Bill.

SPEAKER_04 38:04

Thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_07 38:07

Ladies and gentlemen, Mayor Crew, fellow council members, including Mike Lower, who is a veteran, honored guests, families, and most importantly, my brothers and sisters who serve in Vietnam. Today is more than a memorial dedication. It's a long overdue homecoming. I stand here not only as a member of the City of Montreal Council, but as a United States Army Vietnam veteran. Like you. I served besides young men and women. Very young Americans. I was one of those young parents. I turned 20. And I hit my train. You and I didn't serve for a cause of recognition. We served because it was our duty. And we still remember. And never forget it. Ladies and gentlemen, when Vietnam veterans talk about what we remember, the memories come back to clarity. Clarity that cannot be erased by time. We remember the smells. The wet earth after a monsoon wheel. The sharp bite of gunpowder. The ever-present smell of diesel helicopters or generators. Rice patterns with their mix of mud and water buffer. And even smoke from nearby villages. And we remember that unmistakable, pungent, suffocating scent that flung to the air from Napa. Those smells are forever as for our members. Sounds. Sounds. We remember sounds. We remember the thump of helicopter guns. The sound that met really four things. Danger, rescue, hope, and sometimes heartbreak. The sound of artillery and mortar fire, and many, many more sounds, they formed the soundtrack of the Vietnam War. We remember the suddenness of combat and being ambushed. We remember the long days in the heat, the long nights when every sound made your heart beat just a little bit faster. We remember encounters with Vietnamese slaves. And the tension of not knowing if any of them were aligned with the VC. But above all, we remember each other. Friendships between white and black soldiers that were previously unheard of. And those bonds didn't disappear when we came home. They're still with us today. We remember the wounded. Soldiers, friends, civilians, and even children. We remember the nurses, the medics, and the women that performed miracles under impossible conditions. I do mean impossible. Many of us. This country that didn't learn understand, but we had been to many of us. So this memorial stands for the 58,281 Americans whose names are Edge and our Artists Forever. And the 1,566 Americans who are still unaccounted for. MIA missing in action. It also stands for the families who carry the weight of worry and loss. And it stands very, very importantly for those Vietnamese veterans who still suffer from VMC. So we close and folks, and especially to my fellow Vietnam veterans here today, and those who could not be with us today, please know this. Your memories, your memories, both painful and proud, are now part of this special place. And know this. Your stories will be told. Your service will be honored. And your sacrifice will be remembered. And the fact the military, a military death. And regardless of where you're from, what if that's right in your welcome home, judgments? Welcome home. Our next isn't Is a lady by the name of Barbara Hunter. And I want to give you just a very short intro of Barbara. Barbara is a retired lieutenant colonel from the United States Air Force. She served 22 years. And throughout the United States. Listen up, Burns. She currently serves on the United States Air Force Retirement Council, representing the southeastern United States. And is also on the board of the Market Common Veterans Board. Ladies and gentlemen, Barbara Hunter.

SPEAKER_00 44:56

Good morning. It's an honor to stand here with you, our Vietnam veterans. I did not serve in Vietnam myself. I missed that war by a couple of years. But I'd worked for many Vietnam veterans and I was married to one. The men and women who did serve shaped my life and my career in ways I will never forget. Two of those veterans taught me a lesson that have stayed with me for decades. Lessons about perspective, about duty, and service. And today I want to honor them and through them honor all of you. Colonel Goldchains was my second boss in the Air Force. He was an F-105 pilot, shot down over North Vietnam in July of 1968. He was captured and immediately spent the next 1,703 days, nearly five years, in the Hanoi Hilton. He came home on March 14, 1973. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could rattle him. His internal measuring stick was always the same. Is this worse than a day in a Vietnamese prison? And of course the answer was always no. I never heard him raise his voice. I never saw him angry. Nothing shocked him, even the day I came in with my first big disciplinary issue. Colonel James, the security police, just called and they arrested one of our airmen. He looked up calmly and said, Oh, they arrested him for smoking a joint on the flight line in his fuel truck. Now, as a second lieutenant, I was ready to let my hair catch on fire. I wanted to storm out, I wanted to yell, I wanted to grab this kid by the collar. But Colonel James taught me that that wasn't leadership. What we needed to do was confirm the facts, handle the consequences, and move forward. No drama, no theatrics, and certainly nothing that compared to a day in a Vietnamese prison camp. That lesson is with perspective that stayed with me today. Traffic, tourists, bike week in Mural Beach, perspective. The other Vietnam vet who shaped me was my husband Mike. He was a few years older than I was, and he's in the photo over there to my left. He was a few years older than I was. He had a college department in the 60s, but as soon as he graduated, his draft number came up, and the Army recruiter found him. His father, a World War II veteran, urged him to run to Canada. But the sense of duty and service that he had learned from that very same father would not let him do that. He did not run to Canada, but he did run to the Air Force recruiter to avoid the Army, but still, it was duty and service. After enlisting, he earned a commission and became an F-4 pilot flying out of Cameron Bay. We married in 1980 and managed to be assigned together several times, and when he hit 20 years, he retired so he could follow me and he took care of our kids during Desert Storm. Now in the early 90s, I was selected to command a squadron at RAF Lake and Heath. It was a dream job. And not long into that tour, I received a short-notic deployment to the Balkans, the former Yugoslavia. I had three days to pack up and go, and I was angry. I had done my time in Desert Storm. I would miss everybody's birthdays. I was a squadron commander leaving my squadron behind. Surely someone else could go. And after I finished my rant, Mike looked at me and said calmly, your squadron will be fine. The kids and I will be fine. When I was in Vietnam, it took more than two weeks, if that quickly, to get any mail from the states. We had no phone calls. You have no, we had no reliable way to quickly stay in touch. You'll have Audubon phone calls. The Commsborne commander lives right next to us. And this is, but more important than all of that, this is why you raised your right hand. You are needed. And two days later I deployed duty and service. Our kids and I would ask him about his time in Vietnam, but we never got very far. And my deep regret is that we couldn't find a way to break down that wall. Please, all of you, share your experiences with a family member. They want to know, and they're here for. My beloved Mike passed away in January of 2022 from cancer, presumptively caused by Agent Orange. He would have loved this memorial, the peaks it offers, the space for reflection, and I love it because it beautifully and powerfully honors the service and sacrifice of our Vietnam veterans. So today, as we dedicate this place, I think of Colonel James, I keep thinking of Mike, and I think of all of you who carried the weight of a war and too often carried it alone. To Colonel James, to Mike, to all of you who serve, welcome home. Welcome home.

SPEAKER_01 50:16

Thank you, Barbara. Like all veterans, our keynote speaker today embodies everything this memorial represents. On May 2nd, 1968, at the village of Dai Do in Vietnam, then Captain Livingston led his company across 500 meters of open rice paddy under withering enemy fire, destroyed over a hundred enemy bunkers, and personally halted an enemy battalion's counter-attack, all while wounded, three times. He refused evacuation until every one of his Marines was safe. For those actions, he was awarded our nation's highest military honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. General Livingston served 33 years on active duty, rising to Major General and commanding forces through Desert Storm and beyond. And he's continued his service ever since. With the Fisher House, the most popular Fisher House in the country down in Charleston. Please join me in welcoming Major General.

SPEAKER_04 52:04

I tell you it's a pleasure to be here with you. And just make us see all the fans working. And if we had the temperature about 20 degrees higher, and it was about seven o'clock in the morning, and uh you were in Vietnam, and you had a radio, what would you hear? Good morning, Vietnam! Okay, it is absolute a pleasure to be here with you. And let me just sort of ad lib just for a moment. I had three trips to Vietnam, and I'll talk a little bit about a couple of them. But the second one was here to caterfense. And I recall year that period I lost an Echo Company, 48 Marines, and almost 300 WIA in a period of about five months. But I remember most of them, and I reflect on most of them were young kids, 1920, and 20, 21, 22. And my reflection is there because I know they wanted to come home. They wanted to be fathers and grandfathers. They didn't have that chance. And that's the reason we're here today. To remember what they give to this country, what their sacrifice was. And I also acknowledge to go to our families. One of the worst jobs I've ever had in the Marine Corps is being today. With a pastor or priest pulling up in front of a house and knocking on that door and say, he's not coming home. It's a tough job, folks. I'd rather be an economy. That's the kind of experiences that that manager and all the veterans have had here today. To all the veterans, I acknowledge your service and sacrifice. To all the families, I acknowledge your service and sacrifice. And to all American citizens, I appreciate your love for this country we call America. We have the greatest country in the world. I believe that Memorial Day is the most celebrated of all our national holidays. The one that is most right of understanding and taken for granted. This is not a hot dog day. I think we ought to be okay with that. I have no problem with that. But folks, this is not a hot dog day and a beer day. On this day, we honor those who gave their lives in service to this great nation we call America. Today, we also celebrate the service of our Vietnam veterans. The first American military unit served as advisors, and we entered Vietnam to assist the South Vietnamese from the communists in the North. We assisted an ally and needs something we have done since World War I to preserve freedom and provide security to our allies. Until the war on Terra, Vietnam was the longest conflict with over a million Americans serving in theater from 1956 through 1975. The first man killed in Vietnam was Richard C. B. Fitzgibbon in 1956. The next was James Davis of the 509th Radio Research Station in 1961. The oldest man killed was 62. Some of the first DOWs was Captain Rocky Persia and first Lieutenant Jim J. Nick Rowe, Special Forces Advisor in 1963. As a matter of fact, as an ed lived, Nick Rowe and myself were serving in the Philippines together. And Nick and myself used to switch off cars because the communists were after us in hell. And I left two weeks before Nick was killed, and he was killed in my car. The Vietnam Warrior repetited almost 10% of their generation. And 61% in uniform were under 21. 11,465 were 20 or younger. The average age of a fertility was 23. The average age of a grunt was 26. Of those killing action in all branches, 17,539 were married. 23,214 were hungry, disabled. The first groups dedicated to combat arrived in 1965. And our forces fought with tenacity, honor, and complete dedication. But Vietnam was not a war to fly by solid battle lines or even terror giants. It was brutal. The terrain and the weather were harsh. The enemy was hard. Prepared, determined, and we had to cover a lot of terrain on foot and by heloes. Our mission was handed down from people in Washington who never understood the operational requirements. We never lost a battle, guys. Never lost a battle. Not a major battle. And we inflicted enormous challenge release upon our enemies. You won the fight. Metterback helicopters flew 500,000 missions, reducing the mortality rate for the wounded. The average time from being seriously wounded to being hospitalized was 47 minutes. Less than 1% of those wounded who survived 24 hours or Matterback after Matterback died of wounds. The jury of the war is often underestimated, as reflected in around 15,221 service members, including nurses killed in us. 268 medals of honor awarded, 33 retroactives, with 490 Navy crosses, 1,061 Army Distinguished Service Crosses, and 184 Air Force crosses. Also awarded along with many bronze and silver stories. And many men were all through the service. We still have 1,611 missing in us. And outright flies emerged from the war, such as the majority of serving were drafting. In fact, only 74% of all our active duty and data were volunteers. 74% were volunteers. Another melt is rabbit. Drug use. But there is one sad truth, ladies and gentlemen. Suicide rate among Vietnam veterans was almost twice as high as non-veterans. This was probably caused by their being rejected and unable to relate to those who've never shared their experiences. Those vets who remained in service had no such problems as they remain in their military, remained with their military family. But the greatest myth is that America's military lost the war. We won, as I stated before, ever battle, and inflicted poor hard casseries upon the enemy. One myth that about Walter Cronkite claimed that the Tet Offensive was a defeat for the U.S. And a war could not be won. This was, I was going to say something about the war. This was the biggest piece of fake propaganda I've ever heard. Death was the death meal for John Depp's forces. They lost everybody. They secured no valuable train, and they lost over 45,000 dead during the catalog. It almost ceased to exist. As they were on their knees. The politicians withdrew combat forces in 1973 and stopped funding itself, so the outcome wasn't helpful. I saw it one of the last three helicopters coming out of Vietnam. I saw the evacuation and saw a guy. I saw the marvelous representation of our forces executing that evacuation. Unlock what you saw in Africanist. He evacuated over 140,000 people in Vietnam in April of 1975. During the war, the NBA and DC murdered well over a hundred thousand of their own people. Such as teachers, lawyers, and F we label killed anyone who assisted Allied forces. Four to six million people were slaughtered when the comments took over South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. And that's the story. Sadly, many Americans do not even know what Memorial Day stands for. Just many of our citizens have never served in the false of this nation. I know it's all good. Freedom was paid for and fled by many women who do the rest of love and serve our nation and stood what we were fighting for. Why would anyone say in that quote? Freedom is never more than one generation away from each other. And we should remember that. I would like to thank all Bob for raising me $921,000 for the Getting High War Memorial. To honor and remember all who served. $421,000 that amount will go for the life-size statue and talk about it. And you will be dedicated later this year. Thanks again to all for your support. And for you honoring our Vietnam veterans. It's how we ensured those veterans who came home and come home now are well taken care of and well served by this nation.

SPEAKER_07 1:14:07

Yes. Is Halloween? Yes. Is no longer. Is it landscape? Is not desolate. Is it landscape? It's forever dedicated. We have Christ. We have dedicated it. Now has life. Now has purpose. So now we join together. So now we always want. To ensure that we always remember. To ensure that we never forget.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:52

We honor their memory.

SPEAKER_07 1:14:54

We honor their sacrifice. Like the sun shine. And like God is what embrace. Embrace our son.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:12

And we'll be back in just a few minutes. Alright, everybody, before we leave, I wanted to come out here and just let you see the new Vietnam Memorial in Myrtle Beach. They just had the big opening today. They do not have some of the statues yet. But here's a map of the Vietnam and Laos in Cambodia, and it'll be a the little reflecting pond that is here. And they have the the chopper and pictures from the troops there. Like I said, they've got some stuff they're still trying to put together. But this is a really neat monument. So if you get a chance to come to, I think this is going to be one of the statues. It's kind of a rendering of it that will be out here when they get done. But I think they really wanted to have it up and able to go for today. And they're going to do some of the unveiling of some of the other things on Memorial Day. And here is some stuff like the events that happened during the election or during the war. Elections on my mind, I guess, until we do a political show. But this covers from November of 1955, which was when Eisenhower was president, all the way through President Kennedy's administration, President Johnson, and then of course Richard Nixon, who we profile quite a bit on the Richard Nixon Experience, which is my other podcast, and of course during a main show, and then of course Gerald Ford, who had we were already out by the time he became president, but we were still helping a little bit and funding up the South Vietnamese troops, and of course he's the president who oversaw the fall of Saigon. And if you go to our podcast, you can go through the Vietnam War, starting with season three, where we cover Lyndon Johnson and all the way through the Nixon administration. Now on the back here is this part of the wall. And they have a lot of the photographs that you can see that commemorate the war. And it's got the quote from President Kennedy about ask not what your country can do for you, what you can do for your country. And of course, this is the generation that had to go out and do that and help our ally in South Vietnam. And I have always said this and will continue to say it. And so we may not have won the actual war there, but we won the battle. And it was because of the veterans and the folks who fought that war and the leadership of President Johnson and President Nixon that we were able to win it. And as you come in here, I'm going to walk you around a lot of folks in here taking pictures today. As you come into the memorial here, right here at the front, it says, I'm going to turn you back around here. There's a memorial plaque. Some dedication, sacrifices. Recognize, honor, and remember. And then, of course, I'm going to end with the welcome home.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:19

Oh, yeah.