Plaque honoring fallen veterans from Boardman to be dedicated

The plaque was stored in one of the park’s buildings and found this year.

By ALISON KEMP

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

BOARDMAN — Edward Lozano sent a letter home to his parents asking for Kool-Aid because it was so hot in Vietnam. But his father, Leroy Lozano, said the package did not arrive before he heard his son had died after only six weeks there.

Lozano and seven other Boardman natives are honored on a plaque dedicated to Boardman veterans who died in Vietnam.

The plaque, which was created in 1985, is on display in Boardman Park at the Armed Forces Memorial and will be dedicated during the Memorial Day program May 28.

Leroy Lozano said his son enlisted in the Navy so that he would not be drafted into the Army. When Edward Lozano was tending to wounded soldiers in Vietnam, he got shot, too. Leroy Lozano said he knew no more about his son’s death.

Carol Bonte, sister of David Eisenbraun, one of the other veterans on the plaque, said the plaque is a wonderful reminder of the men’s service.

“When people see that, they don’t take it for granted,” Bonte said. After a pause, remembering her brother, she continued. “It’s a lot of years ago, but it seems like yesterday.”

But the plaque also reminds her “of how young those boys were.”

She said she’s glad the plaque was put in the park.

“Those kids all probably were there at one time,” she said.

The plaque was supposed to be mounted near the park’s main flagpole, but was instead stored in one of the park’s buildings and found this year when preparing for the park’s 60th anniversary celebration, said Dan Slagle, executive director at Boardman Park.

Glad they were found

James Lemmon, brother of Richard Lemmon, who also died fighting in Vietnam, did not know that the plaque had not been on display.

“I’m rather glad [Boardman Park] took the time to find us,” he said. He said he had not known about a previous ceremony in Youngstown until a friend who was in the ceremony told him about it.

James Lemmon and one of his sisters, along with other family members, will attend the ceremony.

The plaque was originally donated by a social science class at Boardman High School, Slagle said. He believes the class took a trip to Washington, D.C., saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and was motivated to research and honor the fallen Boardman Vietnam veterans.

The plaque was refinished by a donation from Spectrum Metal Finishing Inc. on Bev Road. Elliot’s Western Reserve Nursery and Garden Center on Western Reserve Road donated the boulder for the plaque.

The service begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Maag Outdoor Arts Theatre after the 10 a.m. parade.