Area veterans participate in ceremony to honor those killed in Vietnam War

The men, high school buddies who served at the same time in Vietnam, worked the same shift at GM for 30 years but never spoke of the war.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Vietnam War veterans Rodney Cavaliere and David Durrett said it was their duty to their comrades in arms to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by reading 30 names each of the 58,229 etched into its glossy black granite panels.
Cavaliere, 55, of Austintown, and Durrett, 56, of Deerfield, were among some 2,000 people nationwide who volunteered to participate in the four-day ceremony honoring the men and women who died in the Vietnam War between 1959 and 1975.
Cavaliere was scheduled at 3 p.m. Sunday to read the names of 30 who died March 26 and 27, 1970; and Durrett was scheduled at 3:02 p.m. to read the names of 30 who died March 28 and 29, 1970.
The names were read from 8 a.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday.
Longtime friends
The two men, buddies since their days at Austintown Fitch High School, served at the same time in Vietnam -- 1967 and 1968, Cavaliere in the Marine Corps, Durrett in the Army.
They did not see each other in Vietnam, but living in the same neighborhood, they reconnected after the war. They also worked together for some 30 years at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Lordstown, mostly as second-shift material handlers, before retiring, Durrett in 1998 and Cavaliere last April.
Both men have been to The Wall numerous times and agree it is the names that give it power.
"It was very emotional to read the names of people I had known," Cavaliere said of his first visit.
Bitter experience
Cavaliere admitted he was bitter about how Vietnam veterans were treated when they returned home and did not go to The Wall immediately after it opened.
"I had a lot of mixed emotions. When we came home the welcome was not so good. You're so happy to come back, but the only people who were glad to see you were your parents. Even veterans groups wanted nothing to do with us. It was a coming home that was a disgrace for fighting men," Cavaliere said.
"There was a lot of bitterness toward us, and on my part, because of how we were treated. The reception we got was so negative, that when we get together, we say 'Welcome home' to each other. I'm not so bitter anymore, but I wish it had been different," Cavaliere said.
The camaraderie among Vietnam veterans is just amazing, said Cavaliere's wife, Joan, who along with Durrett's wife, Karen, accompanied the men to Washington, D.C.
"It's a kind of healing process for these guys. It lets the ones who did make it back talk to each other and welcome each other home," Karen Durrett said.
A lesson was learned from Vietnam. When Desert Storm veterans came home, they got a heroes welcome, as it should have been, Cavaliere said.
In addition to reading the names, Cavaliere and Durrett were scheduled to lay a wreath at The Wall today along with two other members of the United Autoworkers Local 1112 Veterans Committee's Honor Guard.
Both men are longtime members of Local 1112's Veterans Committee. In addition to the Honor Guard, the committee erects displays at the plant, raises money for VA hospitals, volunteers to work on veterans events and keeps up with veterans affairs and benefits. It also maintains an old cemetery at Lake Milton that has the graves of Revolutionary War veterans.
While both men have been to The Wall several times, they said it takes a personal toll every time.
Durrett said his first visit was a big relief, but at the same time was terribly emotional and physically hard because of the weeping.
"It's supposed to be healing, but it's sad. But I still feel I have to go," he said.
"I think The Wall has brought Vietnam veterans together. That's why they call it 'the healing wall,'" Cavaliere said.
Durrett and Cavaliere, like many Vietnam veterans, were greeted with taunts and hostility and were called baby killers when they came back from Vietnam.
Durrett said when he got off the plane in Cleveland he was spit on by demonstrators while he was holding his young sons in his arms.
"We didn't talk about the war. I didn't want anyone to know I was a Vietnam vet," Durrett said.
"It took me almost 20 years to sort things out, with the help of Veterans Affairs counseling. For 30 years, Rod and I worked the same shift and never talked about the war," Durrett said.
But for many, that feeling is changing, as Vietnam veterans have reclaimed the pride they felt in fighting for their country.
"I thank God everyday I came home alive. Now, my main goal is to help men who came home that don't feel honored," Durrett said.
"I'm glad to be part of the healing process and read the names, and represent people who didn't come back. I'm grateful I made it, but I want to keep the memory alive. I don't want people to forget the horror of war," Cavaliere said.