ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 8, 1997 TAG: 9703100026
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON
Some of the lucky ones remember those who died; ``how many senators-to-be are on the wall?''
Recalling painful memories, six senators who fought in the Vietnam War observed the 15th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with a salute to those who didn't make it back.
In a small ceremony Friday in front of the V-shaped black granite wall that carries the names of 58,196 dead and missing, the veterans pleaded with Americans not to forget the hundreds of thousands who returned.
``There are still Vietnam veterans who need our comfort, our assistance and our love. The next time that you see one of them, all Americans should just say, `Welcome home,''' said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was captured, tortured and held prisoner in Vietnam for seven years after his plane was shot down.
McCain admitted that he, like millions of other Americans, initially criticized the stark design as too gloomy. But that all changed when he visited the memorial one evening and saw two Vietnam veterans - strangers to each other - meet at the wall.
``In a few moments, they were embracing and crying,'' McCain said. ``It made it clear to me it was a wonderful place of reconciliation, a wonderful place of healing.''
Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va., agreed. Even though the wall was ``an experiment that we were not absolutely certain was going to work,'' Robb said the monument began a process of healing that continues today.
Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., who lost part of his right leg to a land mine, said the final step toward that healing will be made when former Rep. Pete Peterson, D-Fla., who was captured when his plane was downed, takes up his post as the first U.S. ambassador to postwar Vietnam later this year.
Like the six senators, millions of Americans have found solace at the wall. More than 2.5 million people stand in front of it every year, making it the most-visited monument in Washington.
Twenty-two years after the last American soldier left Vietnam, the senators somberly reflected on the wall's legacy. They then laid a wreath - red ginger, red carnations, blue iris and white lilies - in front of the monument.
``Regrettably ...that service was confused by many people,'' said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., recalling that some veterans came home to a reception that was less than warm. ``The warriors were confused with the war, and that should never have happened.''
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., noted that memorials are not built to glorify war, but to ``honor the commitment and sacrifice and the honor that good men and women give to their country.''
Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., who lost two legs and an arm in the war, said the six senators were ``the remnant ... of a class of leadership that went to war and came back and continued to dedicate ourselves to our country. We're the lucky ones.
``Over the years, as I've seen this memorial ... I've often thought how many... senators-to-be are on the wall.''
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