Vietnam Veterans Honor Society needs your help to build two memorials

From VVHS brochure

The Vietnam Veterans Honor Society would like to share a story with you.

In 1968, Jim got drafted and sent to Vietnam. He fought on a terrible battlefield and saw death firsthand. Jim was lucky; he looked death in the eye, and death blinked. Until now. Now, Jim is slowly dying from the effects of Agent Orange, and he is not alone.

More than 20,000,000 gallons of this deadly herbicide were sprayed on the jungle, many times directly on American troops. Imagine being sprayed with something more deadly than DDT and being told not to worry about it.

Today, hundreds of thousands of veterans are slowly being killed by Agent Orange. They’re dying from a war that ended nearly 40 years ago. But for these veterans, the war never actually ended.

While not wounded by bullets or shrapnel, their wounds are very real and oftentimes deadly. Cancer, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, heart disease, some of the worst diseases known to mankind are attributed to Agent Orange exposure.

We can’t cure them, but with your help we can make sure these veterans are remembered for the sacrifices they made for our country.

The Vietnam Veterans Honor Society is building two new memorials to honor our Vietnam-era veterans. One will honor veterans who have died from Agent Orange-related diseases. The second will honor all those who served honorably in the military during the Vietnam era.

We’re asking for your help and support; you’ve helped us before, and we need your help again, and every dollar helps us to honor their service and sacrifices to our country.

When Jim came marching home, there were no parades to welcome him. We want to make sure that when Jim dies, there will be proper recognition of his service to our country

The new Veterans Memorial will stand in front of a row of American pine trees and will be carved out of academy black Minnesota granite, with names respectfully engraved on it.

These Americans answered their country’s call to duty. When our country asked, they took one step forward. Now, it’s our turn to take one step forward and bring these Veterans Memorials one step closer to completion.

For more information about the new Veterans Memorials and the LZ Peace Memorial, please call (815) 968-1040 or visit www.lzpeace.org to see what we’re all about. Mail donations to: Vietnam Veterans Honor Society, P.O. Box 4304, Rockford, IL 61110.

Any honorably-discharged veteran from Winnebago County who served between 1959-1975, and who contributes (min. $200, tax deductible) to the construction of the Agent Orange Memorial will have his or her name inscribed on a separate memorial close by. For more information, call Eligibility Chairman Mike Todryk at (815) 540-4485.

From the Jan. 2-8, 2013, issue