A new display of Wall of Valor is available at the Covington Post Office, courtesy of VFW Post 1033's Auxiliary. From left to right at Covington Post Office employee John Colvin, VFW Post 1033's Chaplain Dr. Paul Linkenhoker, Auxiliary President Marian Paxton and auxiliary members Patty McAnnally and Cindy Arthur.

Boys To Men... New Display Of Wall of Valor At Covington Post Office   Covington, VA (March 11, 2024) - This has been the most difficult article for me to date. It is not a story of veterans in Vietnam. It is a story of friends and classmates of mine. I know these boys. Actually, we all know a Vietnam vet. They served from November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975. They would be somewhere around 68 years old today. The inductees of 1965-1966 would be around 77. They are your neighbors, husbands, elders in your church, merchants, grandfathers, family and friends. The inductees of 1965 and l966 had pretty simple lives. Then came the decision by the United States government to put an end to the spread of communism in South Vietnam. We didn’t know any communists and didn’t even know what one was. U. S. government and civics were vague at best. Where was Vietnam? And even more: what were they doing there? Eisenhower had sent advisors to the country in 1955 while we were in elementary school. But in the summer of 1965 Lyndon Johnson sent hundreds of thousands of servicemen to this little-known country in Southeast Asia. An additional 50,000 troops were sent. The number of young men who were drafted increased from 17,000 a month to 35,000 a month. Johnson had been advised repeatedly that the defeat of the United States in the conflict in Vietnam was inevitable. But we were the invincible army of the United States of America and defeat was not an option. This conflict was the loss of innocence in America. The greatest military forces of all time ended up losing that conflict. Vietnam was the great divide between young and old, rich and poor, whites and minorities. If you were not going to get a college deferment, have a political connection of some sort, have a family doctor who would give you a medical deferment, have children or a brother or father who had died in a conflict you were going to be drafted. From 1965-1973, 500,000 American men became “draft dodgers”. Bombing started in 1965. The great invincible American military thought the way to end the conflict was going in with guns blazing. The amount of weapons dropped on the people of Southeast Asia was astounding. The U.S. was in a position where they either had to get out, surrender or find a way to win. That way to win was illusive. The military had all the unfathomable resources for heavy artillery engagements but they were fighting the wrong war. Johnson was given a blank check to fight the war. For all of the heavy fire power that the U.S. forces had at their disposal, they were fighting against guerillas on their own jungle soil. The terrain, temperature and elements were known to them. His comment was: “the U.S. will spare no effort and no sacrifice in doing its full part to turn back Communism in Vietnam”. The forces never knew why they were there and most of them were never all in. But in a memo from the Under Secretary of State to Johnson he stated: “We have tended to underestimate the strength and staying power of the enemy and overestimate the effectiveness of our sophisticated weapons.” The Vietcong were fighting on terrain that they knew, climate that they knew and a cause that they as military AND civilians were willing to die for. Volunteers were used throughout the conflict to great advantage. When the U.S. military bombed and destroyed the HonChi Minh trail it was repaired by the next day…mostly by civilians. That’s how much of a national unit North Vietnam was. North Vietnam also had as its allies China and Russia. At home the nation responded with unprecedented peace rallies, draft card burning, anti-culture music and discontent. All gave some, a lot more than most of us will ever realize, and some…gave all. As we prepare for the arrival of The Wall that Heals coming to our area, the decision has been made to keep the Wall of Valor honoring Vietnam veterans during 2024. The Wall of Valor is located in the rear of the post office on Main Street We begin the Wall of Valor with Boys to Men. This begins the journey of young men being drafted and going to fight for their country in a land unknown. If you have a loved one you would like to have honored during this year, please send a picture and write-up to marianpaxton@gmail.com or call 843-653-6098. I would like to apologize to all of the Vietnam veterans for the errors in this personal view. We can never know what you saw, experienced and suffered. I’m sure that some of my “details” are incorrect. Please know that my heart is in the right place. It was done for my friends who were part of the 1965-1966 induction.

* * * * *