Counterparts Honors Laos, Hmong, Vietnam Veterans at 40th Anniversary Ceremony in Arlington

WASHINGTON - June 8, 2015 - PRLog -- The following is the text of the statement issued by Dr. Grant McClure, President and Commander, Counterparts Veterans Association, and Vietnam War veteran, for the 40th anniversary wreath-laying ceremony mourning the fall of the Royal Kingdom of Laos at Arlington National Cemetery, on May 15, 2015. The special memorial ceremony was hosted by the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA), Lao Veterans of America, Inc. (LVA), Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S. Department of Defense, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Members of Congress:


Grant McClure, Counterparts Veterans Association

Lao Veterans of America Monument

Arlington National Cemetery

May 15, 2015

40^th Anniversary Ceremony Mourning the fall of the Royal Kingdom of Laos

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Dear Ladies, Gentlemen and Distinguished Guests:

We are gathered here today on this sacred ground to re-dedicate this living memorial in honor of fallen warriors, and to give tribute to their sacrifices and honorable service.  We honor them by this Living Memorial with all of its symbolism present in this tree that has grown tall and strong since it was first planted in May 1997 as an enduring reminder of our Lao and Hmong allies, and the advisors they fought with, for keeping the faith on the battlefield, and for their incredible resilience as a people.

It is also symbolic that the tree stands overlooking the Nations Capitol and all of the institutions of government such as the White House, the Congress, the State Department, and the Pentagon where so many decisions were made from 1954 to 1975 that ultimately impacted the lives of the Lao and Hmong people whose young men were drawn into the vortex of a secret war during President Eisenhower’s administration, and soon after with growing intensity during the Kennedy administration.  Throughout this most difficult time period the “secret army” remained staunchly loyal to US counterinsurgency efforts, and they suffered staggering losses tying up North Vietnamese divisions in Laos that could have otherwise inflicted greater casualties on US troops in South Vietnam.

On this occasion of the 40^th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the war actually ended in disgrace for the US, and without “peace and honor” as once proclaimed by President Nixon in 1973, leading inexorably to a tragedy of epic proportions for US allies betrayed and abandoned in Laos, South Vietnam, and Cambodia to a vengeful enemy.

This memorial represents a long overdue tribute to proud human endeavor, and fulfills a promise that Counterparts maintains as one of its primary purposes…to commemorate the service and sacrifice of our comrades-in-arms.  It is a way for us to give back to a people who have lost everything in a war that to this day never ended for their people in Laos who were loyal to the US.

We recognize the remarkable courage and resilience of Lao and Hmong allies who fought at the behest of US strategy in a “neutral Laos” in the early to late 1960’s and up to the US withdrawal, and we continue to hold them in our admiration from what they have endured after 1975.  It is their resilience and their faithful commitment that is the reason Lao and Hmong veterans and their families are standing with us at these events, and those that are being remembered by us.

In 1995, fellow Counterparts member, LTC Stuart Beckley, and I, collaborated on a bit of prose that we felt provided great meaning to those we are here to honor:

“As the fallen leaves of Autumn, in unregimented ranks, countless unremembered soldiers rest eternally.

Let us now praise forgotten men, and some there be that have no memorial, who perished as though they had never been.

But they served, and they died, for cause and by circumstance, expended in the quest to preserve liberty and freedom in Southeast Asia, and will forever be remembered, mourned for their sacrifice.

If by weeping, I could change the course of events, my tears would pour down ceaselessly for a thousand Autumns.”

Thank you.

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(Ends)

Contact(s):

Maria Gomez or Philip Smith

CPPA - Center for Public Policy Analysis

Telephone (202)543-1444

info@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

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The Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA), or Centre for Public Policy Analysis, is a Washington, DC-based non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental think tank and research organization, which focuses on international relations, national security, development, humanitarian and refugee issues. The Center is dedicated to research, analysis and education about many of the key public policy issues of our time. The CPPA brings important new ideas, information and experience to the public affairs arena in the U.S. and internationally, including the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.