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Worcester Memorial Honors
Vietnam Veterans from Massachusetts
By Ed Oliver
December 12, 2002
Unbeknownst
to many people, Worcester is home to the official
Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
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Etched into the blocks at
the Place of Names is an alphabetical listing
of the 1,536 Massachusetts dead and missing
in Southeast Asia.
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First proposed in
1986, it was only dedicated this past summer due to
obstacles over location, design and funding.
Tucked away in a
serene, four-acre section of Green Hill Park, the
$1.4 million memorial offers visitors a quiet place
to sit by a duck pond or stroll on landscaped or wooded
paths.
The memorial is comprised
of three "places"-- the Place of Flags,
the Place of Words and the Place of Names.
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Dedicated in the summer of
2002, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial
is located on a 4-acre section of Green Hill
Park off of Belmont Street in Worcester.
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Located at opposite ends of
the site and comprised of massive Stonehenge-like
granite blocks are The Place of Names and
Place of Words
Etched into the blocks at the
Place of Names is an alphabetical listing
of the 1,536 Massachusetts dead and missing
servicemen and one woman in Southeast Asia.
Etched into the blocks at the
Place of Words are excerpts from letters sent
home to loved ones by some of those Massachusetts
servicemen.
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One of the letters reads:
"Dear Mom & Dad,
"Well, I'm back again,
fine as usual, and I hope everybody is fine back home.
For the last eight days I've been living in hell,
to put it literally. We were in an invasion for that
length of time. We had about 6,000 men all told in
the invasion.
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"There were enough killed
and wounded, plenty of them. The first man
we helped treat died about one minute after
we got to him. Everybody got shot at, even
me. We were pinned down in a rice paddy with
shells hitting all around us.
"One splattered the mud
about six feet away from me. In the eight
days we walked through 60 miles of this plus
continuous rain every day. We slept in the
mud and water every night and froze. There
were plenty of accidents -- people shooting
their own men, etc. There were plenty of ambushes
by 30 and 50 cal. machine guns …
"The
V.C. keep us awake every night. Last night
we had a man killed out on the perimeter about
an hour before New Year's - it's a shame,
but that's war.
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The Place of Words displays
excerpts from letters sent home to loved ones
by some of those Massachusetts servicemen
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"I went to Mass again
today and Father was real proud of me making it two
times in a row. Sometimes you just can't help but
miss Mass and he said it was OK if I had to work….
"They traded my pistol
three days ago for a rifle and I'm extremely happy
to have it; it gives you a heck of a lot more protection
with more accuracy when firing at a man 200 yards
away. Who knows - I might have to kill my first person
tonight or tomorrow.
"Well, that's all
the news for now, so I'll sign off.
"Love, Dave"
Underneath the letter,
these words are etched.
19 December 1965 - 20 February
1966
DAVID LAWRENCE DRAKE JR.
1945 - 1966
The memorial is open during
daylight hours and is located off Belmont Street (Rt.
9) in Worcester.
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