Hicksville Vietnam War Era Memorial

The List of Names of those who served continues to expand through monthly announcements in HixNews.  In September, we reached a total of 448.  Growth in the past two months slowed, but the project's momentum continues with the help of HixNews and its many readers and the dedication of our Project Team. 

We are still seeking broader distribution of the news of this effort through publication in Newsday and The New York Daily News, plus national veteran's publications.  A fundraiser somewhere in Hicksville to help sponsor the Memorial is also being considered by the Project Team.

Bill Walden signed on as our newest Project Team member in September and as Commander of Hicksville's VFW Post, we are pleased to have his help.  A barbeque sponsored by The Hicksville VFW on Saturday, September 12^th drew support for our effort through the presence of NY State Assemblyman Walker and some members of the Project Team.

Memorial Qualifications:  A person must have been on active duty in one of our Armed Forces during the Vietnam Era.  The person did not necessarily have to serve in Vietnam , because by being in service at that time he or she faced the possibility of being sent to Vietnam and was an integral part of strengthening our Armed Forces during a time of war. 

Overall qualifications include:

• must have been a resident of Hicksville at some time before entering our Armed Forces
• must have attended a public, private or parochial high school while living in Hicksville (attendance at HHS not required)
• must have served on active duty anywhere in the world during America 's Vietnam Era (1961-1973 per the www.vietnamwar.com history timeline)
• Both men and women qualify (We're stating this as we still have very few women on the current list)

While the list has now grown to 448 names, we know there are many more that served who meet these qualifications, but have yet to be identified by the Project Team.  Rough estimates indicate we should be able to collect between 2 and 3 thousand names.  We have access to official records in Washington , D.C. but have found that many people left Hicksville before entering the service and show a different town or city as their home at the time of entry.  So, we need to continue this grassroots effort and will also continue to use official records as a means of confirmation of all personnel on the list. 

Our Project Team consists of the following members:

·        Ken Strafer, Founder (HHS '62)

·        Joe Carfora, Master List (HHS '62)

·        Carl Probst, Input Data, Class of '59 & Others (HHS '59)

·        Tony Plonski, Input Data, Class of '64 & Others (HHS '64)

·        Tommy Sullivan, Press Release Editing (HHS '63)

·        Walter Schmidt, Hicksville Local Coordinator & Town of Oyster Bay Veterans Services Officer (HHS '65)

·        Joe Ingino, Veterans Advocate, Hicksville & Long Island (HHS '67)

·        Jay Tranchina, Input Data, Class of '64 & Others, plus local press contact (HHS 1964)

·        Bill Walden, Commander of Hicksville VFW Post (HHS '65)                                                    

What we need each person reading this to do:

Please review the attached list of names.  If you know of someone who is not listed, please send their name to Joe Carfora at jcarfora1@nc.rr.com.  Please use the information contained on the following list as a guide for the data we need.

Thank you!  

The Vietnam War Era Memorial Project Team

Footnote extracted from www.vietnamwar.com:  During 15 years of military involvement, over 2 million Americans served in Vietnam with 500,000 seeing actual combat. 47,244 were killed in action, including 8000 airmen. There were 10,446 non-combat deaths. 153,329 were seriously wounded, including 10,000 amputees. Over 2400 American POWs/MIAs were unaccounted for as of 1973.