Hicksville Vietnam War Era Memorial

 

We now have 1,794 names listed, with three more being added in September, thanks to the continued following of this Project by the many readers of HixNews!     We know you agree that it is very important to this effort that no one deserving to be included in this Memorial is left behind.  So, please continue to help this effort by reviewing the List of Names when you select the "click here" link near the bottom of this update with you computer's mouse.  To speed the process, just use your class year or the years you may be familiar with as a reference and see if you have a new name or some missing data to email to us.  Class years, where known, are specifically shown to make this effort easier for our readers.  All data still missing from names already on the list is shown in red, again to make it easier for readers to pick up.

The letter sent last month to all Hicksville area Veterans Group Commanders, has yet to bear much fruit, but we are hopeful with the end of summer that it will provide some new sources of additional information for new names and missing data. 

We received some excellent feedback from readers on the first draft mock-up of the Memorial's Centerpiece Plaque, which appeared in last month's issue of HixNews and have made some good changes to the wording as a result.  A new draft mock-up will appear in a later issue.  Our thanks go to those of you who helped us make these changes by providing your feedback.

Commensurate with the 50th Reunion of the Class of 1962, on October 6th a breakfast meeting will be held with seven of the Project Team's members present.  We hope this will soon lead to finalization of the Memorial's site and our fund raising plans.

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 (February,1961 through April,1975)
  • Both men and women qualify (We're stating this since, while continuing to add a number of women, we still have relatively few on the current list overall)

Our Project Team consists of the following HHS Alumni and Vietnam War Era Veterans:

·         Ken Strafer, Founder (HHS '62)

·         Joe Carfora, Project Coordinator & 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, 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, Cmdr of Hicksville VFW Post, Site Selection/Approval & Fundraising Leader (HHS '65)                                                   

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

Please click on the following link to review the current list of names:  Click here

If you know of someone who is not listed, or if you have information we are still missing, 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.

To access a huge list of veteran related websites that offer assistance, visit http://buffalobobcasale.com