Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 12, 1993 TAG: 9311120078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Boston Globe
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Clinton, on his first Veterans Day as commander in chief, said past wars and subsequent protectionist policies show that Americans cannot "just stay home." He said the end of the Cold War cannot be followed by an effort to close the nation's borders to free trade, as he said happened after World War I with disastrous results.
But Clinton, whose lack of military service in Vietnam was a contentious issue in the last election, sent Gore to the day's main event, the culmination of a 10-year effort to build a Vietnam Women's Memorial for 11,000 nurses and others.
On a sunny, warm day, as flags rippled and thousands of former soldiers and nurses in military outfits filled the Mall, the sculpture of two nurses helping a wounded soldier was unveiled. One of the spectators, Peggy Mikelonis of Tampa, Fla., cried as she recalled the time 20 years ago when she, too, helped wounded soldiers.
"This is the most moving experience of my life," she said afterward. "I had tears of joy, seeing all these people I served with 20 years later."
Many soldiers attended the ceremony as well, and some seemed relieved that Clinton did not appear and become the focus of controversy.
"Today was a beautiful day," said Paul Rolandi, a Vietnam veteran from Waterbury, Conn., who said nurses helped him when he broke his neck during the war. "The women deserve this as much as we do. I'm glad Clinton wasn't here. Al Gore was in Vietnam. He understands us."
Clinton tried to deflect some of veterans' criticism Thursday by releasing most documents relating to possible Vietnam-era prisoners of war and missing in action. The president also signed legislation increasing cost-of-living benefits by 2.6 percent for disabled veterans. He was visiting a veterans' hospital in Martinsburg, W.Va., as the Vietnam Women's Memorial was unveiled.
During the ceremony, Clinton praised the heroism of Army Rangers who participated in a firefight in Somalia that left 18 Americans dead. Clinton, who brought some of the Rangers to the Oval Office and later to Arlington National Cemetery, praised them for standing by their pledge to stay at the scene of a battle until every wounded or dead soldier was retrieved.
"They braved hours and hours of the fiercest enemy fire," Clinton said about the Rangers. "They did their mission well."
Gore, a Vietnam veteran, told the crowd at the unveiling of the Vietnam Women's Memorial that he shared the pain they had when they returned home to scorn and protest.
"I never felt rage and pain like when I experienced that," Gore said.
by CNB