Hicksville Vietnam War Era Memorial

Five more names were added in July, a traditionally slow month due to vacations, for a new total of 542.  We want to thank all of you who have contributed and continue to contribute names and information to this project.

v     Thanks to Adrienne Dolgin, HHS 1964, the Hicksville Library archivist is attempting to generate additional names from classes earlier than 1959, who may not read HixNews so as to insure that those who served our Armed Forces during the Vietnam War Era from Hicksville classes in the 1940's and 1950's receive the recognition they deserve from this effort.

v     Jay Tranchina, of the Project Team, has agreed to coordinate our fundraising efforts in Hicksville .  We still intend to announce Fundraising plans in the near future.  Memorial design and site selection discussions  also continue.

v     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)

With 542 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)                                                   

Here's what we continue to need from each person reading this to do:

Please click on the following link and review the current list of names:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AmMG_lUq31y2dDZBR3NRWXNyZjNvOVBJeHNydmU0SlE&hl=en&authkey=CMbTtN8O

If you know of someone who is not listed, or if you have information to clarify/correct data shown in red and/or with a question mark, please send what you have to Joe Carfora at jcarfora1@nc.rr.com.  Please use the information contained on the current 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.

Honoring Our Veterans

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
- John F. Kennedy

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Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Greater Rochester , Highland Park South, Rochester , NY , USA

This Memorial was placed to commemorate the 280 men who gave their lives for freedom, and to educate future generations about their experiences, sacrifices, and to aid in healing for all those left behind. A steel bollard is dedicated to each man.