Lost Irish History: Irish Vietnam Vets Sat, 12 Feb 2000 00:32:51 -0500 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - "Declan Hughes" Sun, 6 Feb 2000 ASSEMBLING THE HISTORY OF IRISH VIETNAM BETERANS Up to March 1998, the "official" facts about Irish service in the Vietnam War were as follows: a. Number of Irish-born who served in Vietnam? No figures. b. Number of Irish-born killed in Vietnam? One. For the past two years I have researched this subject, and with the help of many individuals, that barren 1998 landscape has been altered considerably. In April/May 1999, the half-scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial, in Washington DC ("The Wall"), toured the Four Provinces to recognise and honour the then-14 confirmed Irish-born killed in Vietnam serving with the United States military. By the end of that tour, the figure had increased to 16, plus another four Irishmen confirmed killed serving with Australian Forces. During The Wall's visit to Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Galway and Limerick, President of Ireland Mary McAleese, and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, gave recognition and honour to all Irish who served, and in particular the Irish who lost their lives. Within the Republic the Irish Military rendered official honours at The Wall, where wreaths were laid, US and Irish Anthems played, and The Last Post sounded. For the first time, Irish families who lost sons in Vietnam - and who, for 30 years, believed themselves to have been the sole Irish family to have suffered such a loss - met with each other, and discovered that they had not been the lone families they had believed themselves to be. On Veterans Day 1998 and '99, and Memorial Day 1999, wreaths were laid at The Wall in Washington by the Coalition of Irish Emigrant Centers. Memorial Day 2000 will again see such a ceremony. As the originator of the search for the Irish who served and died in Vietnam, and the instigator of The Wall's Tour of Ireland, I would like to make the following request of the diverse "Irish Community" in the US: a. This Memorial Day, if you don't already participate, please become involved in local ceremonies, and give recognition to those Irish who lost their lives. It is quite possible that the name of an Irish-born is on your local, county or state Vietnam Memorial. The presence of an Irish Flag could mean a lot to a family or community, and could help a family, or Veteran, come forward and identify him or herself. b. Slowly, a list of Irish-born MEN AND WOMEN who served and survived Vietnam is being compiled. Without local research and input from community organisations and individuals, such a compilation is impossible. Although the number of Irish-born KIAs is now a lot higher than the original official figure, we have no idea what percentage these men are in relation to the overall number of those who served until we find out how many served. In other words, have we found the total number of Irish who died, or are there still families out there somewhere who believe themselves to be the sole Irish family to have lost a son in Vietnam? I believe the latter to be the case. c. Information on Irish-born who served and survived, or who were killed, is vitally important in order to compile a correct history of this extraordinary period of conflict. In a controversial era, Irishmen and women served courageously and honourably. It is entirely fitting that their rightful place in United States military history be accorded them. d. Funding for this research and compilation is non-existent, and only continues on a shoe-string, thanks to the generosity of a small number of individuals. There are still names and clues that are impossible to check out due to lack of funds, and clues continue to come in. If your organisation has funding available for research or education, it could mean the difference between finding, or not finding, another family who lost a son in Vietnam. Last year I gave some talks to Irish groups in the US, and feedback and help has been very constructive. This is something your organisation might consider, also including this history into the Irish cultural festivals that take place throughout the year. This year 2000, an all-out effort must be made. With 25th anniversary commemorations being held throughout America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and, I hope, even here in Ireland, we will never be in a better position to avail of media support and interest to raise awareness. Here in Ireland we are awaiting a green light on a TV documentary about the Irish dead, and there is even talk of some Irish Veterans returning to Vietnam before year's end. We also have some Irish Veterans who served in Australian uniform planning a Battalion reunion trip to Sydney in May. To end, I am including an article which appeared in the August-Sept issue of 'The Veteran', the journal of the Vietnam Veterans of America. This gives more detail of the story so far, and also my contact details at the very end. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any information or assistance that will help further this historical project. Slan agus beannacht. Declan Paul Hughes * The Fighting Irish on the Traveling Wall By Jim Belshaw 'The Veteran' - journal of Vietnam Veterans of America, August/September, 1999 John Driver's family owns a barber shop in Dublin, Ireland. Go into it and look up on the wall, and in all likelihood you'll recognise what is displayed for every customer to see - a military decoration, the Purple Heart, an American medal earned by a young Irishman. John Driver is not alone. There are others. Army Lt. John Cecil Driver began his [second] Vietnam tour of duty on January 17, 1969. On April 17, he was killed in action in Thua Thien. His name may be found on The Wall at Panel 27W-Line 99. Had he not recorded his home of record as he did - Dublin, Ireland - Declan Hughes would never have known about him. He would have assumed the official record was correct, that it reflected no Irish-born veterans killed in Vietnam, and he wouldn't have given the idea of Irish-born Vietnam veterans a second thought. Nor would Hughes have found Maurice O'Callaghan, born in Dublin, killed in Vietnam, buried in New Jersey, re-buried in Dublin. "I spent a couple of months wandering around cemeteries in Dublin until I found him," Hughes said. "He was buried in New Jersey in 1967 and re-buried in Dublin in 1976 when the family moved back to Ireland." Nor any of the others: Patrick Nevin (Claremorris), Paul Maher (Dublin), Timothy Daly (Limerick), Bernard Freyne (Roscommon), Michael Smith (Cavan), Patrick Gallagher (Ballyhaunis), Edward Howell (Dublin), John Collopy (Limerick), Edward Scully (Cork), Edmond Landers (Tipperary), Anthony O'Reilly (Galway), Philip Bancroft (Belfast), Sean Doran (Dublin), Peter Nee (Connemara) - all killed in Vietnam, all on The Wall, all born in Ireland. Nor would Hughes have found the four who died while serving with the Australian military - David Doyle (Dublin), George Nagle (Tipperary), Thomas Birnie (Belfast), and Robert Fleming (Northern Ireland). Declan Hughes believes there are more. "I firmly believe this is not the total," he said. "I'm at the point where I can't walk away from it now. I would hate to think there are another sixteen or six or twenty-six and nobody ever knows about them. It's something that needs to be finished." Born in Dublin himself, Hughes is not a Vietnam veteran, but through the years has come to know the war and its lasting effects through the eyes of Irish veterans who served with American and Australian units, and from his work with Vietnamese refugees who settled in Ireland. In 1997, a friend travelled to Vietnam and returned with a ring reportedly taken from an American killed in action. Hughes set out to see if he could return the ring to the family of its owner. In 1998, he travelled to Washington, D.C., where he met the late Libby Hatch, then with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. During that stay, Hughes attended a press conference near The Wall. When it was over, Hughes asked a question: When was the Travelling Wall going to Ireland? " "They looked at me as if I had two heads," he said. Hughes wanted the Travelling Wall - and the attendant press coverage - in Ireland. He thought that based on the rough math he'd been doing, there had to be more Irish Vietnam veterans. And he needed a way to get the word out that he was looking for them. "If you assume the millions of Americans who claim Irish ancestry are correct, you have to make the next logical jump from that which is a percentage of them went into the American military and a percentage of them went to Vietnam and a percentage of them died." Hughes returned to Ireland to continue his search. When Libby Hatch discovered three American Legion posts in Ireland, she notified Hughes. He wrote to them, but only one responded. He addressed the post, telling them of his search but coming away thinking few, if any, believed he'd turn anything up. But clues continued to dribble in. He went on a talk show that led to more information. He found a third Irish veteran killed in Vietnam, then a fourth. The Irish news media started to pay attention to the story. On Veterans Day in 1998, a wreath was laid at The Wall to honour the Irish- born killed in Vietnam. For three weeks in April and May 1999, the Travelling Wall toured the Four Provinces of Ireland, recognising the men and their families for the first time. For the first time, the families met one another, many of them believing their relatives had been the only Irish-born to die in Vietnam. Everywhere The Wall went, the Irish news media covered the story. Eventually, Hughes would find 16 Irish-born veterans killed in Vietnam while serving with U.S. forces. "No one knows how many the total will be," he said. "I think a lot of the Irish and Irish-Americans who served could be particularly helpful in finding them. I'm fairly certain they would have known of other guys in Vietnam, no matter what other area they served in." "I reckon that if you're in Vietnam, no matter if you're in the front or the back, you hear an Irish voice and you recognise it and remember it. I think a lot of guys have information I would love to have, particularly Irish guys who now live in America." Anyone wishing to contact him should write to this address: Declan Hughes Top Floor 119 Capel Street Dublin 1, Republic of Ireland Telephone/Fax from U.S. (011-353-1) 872-2371. E-mail: dectwth@tinet.ie (or, dectwth@eircom.ie) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-02.12.00-00:32:47-19785