By Leon G. Russ STAFF WRITER lruss@hometown-news.com The Wall That Heals, a traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC, may be half the size of the original but it packs just as big an emotional punch. Tears flowed, smiles were shared, and bitter memories mixed with joyous ones as Upstate Vietnam veterans gathered at The Wall That Heals at the USC Upstate campus last Thursday through Sunday. It wasn’t just Vietnam vets who came to pay their respects -- an estimated 20,000 people, young and old, veteran, active duty military and civilian alike all came and were moved by the experience. Richard LeBarron of Chesnee served in the Marine Corps for nine years and spent 13 months “in country” in Vietnam. In fact he noted it was nearly 40 years to the day that he arrived in Vietnam. He served there from April 1968 until May 1969. He said having the traveling wall in the Upstate was great. “It’s about time,” he said, “It’s been a long time coming.” He was happy to see other vets, but more excited to see so many others paying their respects to him and his peers after what was for many of them a difficult time when they returned home. LeBarron said, “Vietnam veterans had a rough time when they came back. There was no homecoming, and the government didn’t help them out.” He also was still resentful that many say we lost the war. “Vietnam vets didn’t lose the war, the government did. They pulled us out in seventy-three and Vietnam didn’t fall until seventy-five.” LeBarron said when he returned to the states he “tried to shut everything (that happened in Vietnam) out and go on with my life.” Dr. Ron Romine, a USC Upstate Professor of Political Science was an artillery commander in the early years of Vietnam. He addressed those gathered during the opening ceremonies. While his address was heard by all, he noted, “I want to direct my comments today to those individuals whose names appear on that wall over there, but I invite all of you to listen in.” He spoke specifically to “three of you (who) were in my artillery battery. Lawrence Kessler, Isaac Jones, Henry Allman, when the gun you were firing around midnight in June of 1966 exploded. I woke up immediately to a nightmarish scene I will never forget.” He later went on to speak of an 18 year old who also perished. Erskine Wiles was newly arrived to Romine’s unit and he said he barely knew him. “He must have been about 18 but he looked about 15. You volunteered for mine clearing duty without any knowledge, just like you volunteered for the Army. You really were not prepared for either one. One of the buried mines exploded killing you and two others.” He noted most of the names on the wall were children of the 1950’s. “You were not political activists, you were not protesters. You went where you were sent, you were proud to serve as your fathers and older brothers did in World War II and Korea. You went to war because your country asked you to go, because your president ordered you to go, but more important(ly) because you saw it as your duty to go.” Dr. Marsha Dowell of USC Upstate also addressed those gathered. She recalled serving as a nurse in Vietnam. She told of seeing things no one should have to see, “limbs blown off, internal organs hanging out of bodies” and so many young men dying. Her voice broke several times and she stopped and started often. She vowed “I will get through this” as she stopped yet again. A loud voice rang out “We love you” and seemed to give her the strengthto continue recounting her experiences. That’s what The Wall That Heals is all about. It’s there to help those who went through such trying times to come to grips with what they saw and what they lost. It also enables them to share their experiences with those who didn’t serve or have only read about it in history books. It brings an awareness of what these men and women went through, what they sacrificed for, and why America is still “the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.” The Wall in DC and its smaller cousin, the traveling Wall That Heals, act as a salve for the nation. It brings out the best in everyone. It unites us all and shows America, and Americans, at their best.