The Gallatin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) will honor Daviess County veterans of the Vietnam War with a special dedication cancellation stamp during a ceremony set for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the Gallatin Post Office.
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Gallatin DAR has been trying to collect all the names of county Vietnam veterans since the Moving Wall came to Gallatin last August.
“We know the veterans listed as members of the VFW and we had a sign-up sheet during the July 4 celebration at Dockery Park,” said Mary Beth Pittsenbarger, Treasurer of the Gallatin DAR Chapter. “Some names have come to us by word-of-mouth. We have identified 50 Vietnam vets in Daviess County but know there are more.”
Each veteran will receive the Medal of Honor: Vietnam War First Class Mail Forever stamp during Wednesday’s ceremony. The special dedication postmark will include the date, city, state and zip code of the Gallatin event adjacent to the stamp image.
The stamp was dedicated on Memorial Day of this year at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The stamps are in three designs, Army, Air Force and Navy.
The Medal of Honor is our nation’s most prestigious military decoration. It is awarded by the president on behalf of Congress to members of the armed services who distinguish themselves through “conspicuous gallantry.”
There are only about 50 living Medal of Honor recipients from the Vietnam War in the United States and none from Daviess County. However, there are four Gold Star Families from Daviess County. Gold Star Families honors those who lost loved ones in the war. Those killed in Vietnam from the area were David Worrell, Darryl McCartney, Rex Offield and Gary Garner.
The ceremony will be followed by a reception at the Daviess County Library.
The Gallatin Chapter DAR applied for commemorative partnership status with the Department of Defense to recognize Vietnam veterans during the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. As such the DAR is charged with initiating two events a year, but have already surpassed that goal. The commemorative stamp is their third event. A recognition ceremony was held at the Cameron VA with the Independence DAR Chapter in March and the DAR sponsored several events at the July 4 celebration at Dockery Park. More events are scheduled for next year.
This year, 2015, marks the 50th anniversary of the war, which lasted nearly 20 years. The United States began a withdrawl of troops in 1973, and the war ended on April 30, 1975. More than 58,000 American were killed in the conflict.
The following is a list of Daviess County Vietnam veterans. If you know of a Vietnam veteran who is not listed, call Ms. Pittsenbarger at 660 367 2362.
Daviess County Vietnam veterans include: Allen, David; Aschbrenner, Arlo J; Barnes, Larry D; Beck, Steven H; Booth, Steven D; Bray, James R; Bridgman, Bruce; Carroll, David; Clevenger, Leonard R; Cone, Gary L; Cook Sr., James R; Coulson, Ronald E; Crabtree, Darell; Critten, Daniel L; Dame, Lee I; Dill Jr., Victor C; Ehly, Michael K; Ferguson, Jerry W; Harmison, Gary R; Huffman, Perley J; Johnson, Larry; Landis, Rocky J; Lankford, Dale; Lasher, James D; Ledesma, Ronald L; McMahon, Casey; Meder, James P; Morrell, Steven A; Pontious, George A; Provance, Robbie; Rader, Robin R; Rash, James L; Reigenborn, Herman J; Renne, Harry; Roder, Jess; Rogers, Gary L; Seager, Duane E; Sims, Randall W; Smith, Robert E; Stanhope, Paul; Sullivan, Thomas; Sulpulveda, Humberto; Williams, Thomas L; Wood, Wayne A; Worley, Loren; Wortman, Charles E.