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Vietnam Veterans Honored For Decades-Old Sacrifices
(June 3, 2010) |
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| | WASHINGTON (MCN - 6/1/2010) — A wall with more than 58,000 names
carved into the surface may not seem to change much when another
name is added. However, getting those names added means everything
for the families of the service members they represent. |
On May 4 the names of three Marines, Lance Cpl. John E. Granville,
Lance Cpl. Clayton K. Hough Jr. and Cpl. Ronald M. Vivona, and three
soldiers, Capt. Edward F. Miles, Sgt. Michael J. Morehouse and Lt.
Col. William Taylor, were added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The families of the six service members gathered at “the Wall” to
join Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in
honoring them at the annual Memorial Day observance May 31.
“As your loved ones now join their brothers and
sisters, we hope this day helps to bring you
closure and peace,” said Mullen, welcoming the
families. “This gathering is certainly a fitting
way for a nation in its ninth consecutive year
at war to reflect on the debt we owe to |
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Cpl. John J. Granville, a food service specialist with Marine Corps
Mountain Warfare Training Center, Pickel Meadows, Calif., gets a
rubbing of his father's name for the first time May 31, 2010, at the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington. His father, John E.
Granville, who served with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, in
the Vietnam War, died in 2007 from a heart condition that stemmed
from injuries he sustained in Vietnam. His name was added to the
wall earlier this month. |
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those who have fallen in the defense of our
nation.” |
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The names added to the wall represent service members who recently
died of injuries they sustained in the Vietnam War, said Lisa Gough,
the director of communications for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Fund. The Department of Defense reviews the medical records of
service members when requested by families to determine if their
name is eligible to be included on the memorial.
Cpl. John J. Granville, a food service specialist with Marine Corps
Mountain Warfare Training Center, Pickel Meadows, Calif., and Spc.
Michael Vivona, an engineer stationed in Fort Polk, La., stood with
family members of the four other service members being honored and
read their fathers' names off the wall for the first time during the
ceremony.
“(My father) used to say that the real heroes are on that wall,”
said Granville.
Granville's father served as a machine gunner with 1st Battalion,
7th Marine Regiment, in 1968 when he stepped on a land mine south of
Da Nang, Vietnam. The explosion severed both of his legs.
Complications from the amputations caused him heart disease that led
to his death. The loss of his legs didn't stop the senior Granville
from living his life and being a role model to his family, explained
his son.
“He never gave up,” said Granville. “Even though he was going
through his worst nightmare, he always had a drive to do what was
right.”
Cpl. Vivona was a rifleman serving with Marines on Hill 700 near Khe
Sanh when his unit was caught in an ambush. He lost both of his legs
to a combination of bullets and grenades, but Vivona stayed strong
and made it back home to the country he loved, said Spc. Vivona.
“He was tough as nails,” said his son. “He did so well on the
prosthetics that most of my friends just thought he had a bad hip.”
Cpl. Vivona died of hepatitis, the result of a bad blood transfusion
for his amputation, in 2008. Spc. Vivona decided to join the Army
after his father's death, something he jokingly said the Marine
wouldn't have approved of.
“(My father) said he did enough for his country,” said Vivona. “He
said he did it so his sons wouldn't have to.”
Linda Vivona, the wife of Ronald and the mother of Michael, agreed
that her husband wouldn't have approved initially, but he would have
come around.
“(Ronald) would have been so proud of (Michael),” she said. “It
would have taken some time, but he would have been very proud.”
After the ceremony, Granville walked to the part of the wall where
his father's name was engraved. He took a piece of paper, placed it
on his father's name and rubbed a pencil over the paper. The name
clearly came through, proof that Lance Cpl. Granville's name is now
among heroes.
Getting his father's name added to the wall was an honor for Spc.
Vivona.
“(My father) always talked about being with his brothers; now he
gets to be near them,” he said. | |
Article and photo by USMC LCpl. Benjamin Harris
Headquarters Marine Corps
Copyright 2010
Reprinted from
Marine Corps News
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