The names of three Vietnam War veterans from Marion were read aloud during D.C. ceremony

The names of 513 Vietnam War veterans, including three from Marion County, who died after the war from illnesses related to their service, were read aloud on the East Knoll of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. on June 18 as part of the ongoing “In Memory” program.

The names of George Patton Olin, 75, of Ocklawaha, who died Nov. 6, 2018; George J. Carson, 87, of Ocala, who died May 5, 2021; and Richard Pierre Soucy, 79, of Ocala, who died Nov. 19, 2021, were read aloud and their “personal remembrances” will be added to an “In Memory Honor Roll” website.

The "In Memory" program was established in 1993 by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), the organization that founded the memorial known as “The Wall” in 1982, according to a VVMF press release.

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A plaque added to the memorial in 2004 reads: "In Memory of the Men and Women who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service. We honor and remember their sacrifice," according to the press release.

Photos of the honorees will be added to the VVMF mobile exhibit “The Wall That Heals,” when the mobile memorial visits their home state, the press release stated.

In the release, Jim Knotts, president and CEO of VVMF, commented on the veterans’ experiences and the “In Memory” program.

“For many Vietnam veterans, coming home from Vietnam was just the beginning of a whole new fight. Many never fully recovered, either physically or emotionally, from their experiences. As these veterans pass, it is our duty and solemn promise to welcome them home to the place that our nation has set aside to remember our Vietnam veterans,” Knotts stated.

About George Olin

Olin's widow, Cheryl, made the trip to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to read her husband's name aloud on Saturday.

She called the ceremony “patriotic yet sorrowful” in an email afterward.

"George would be grateful to know his service and sacrifice is being recognized now," she said.

Cheryl Olin said her husband, a Marion County native and 1960 Lake Weir High School graduate, attended the College of Central Florida (then Central Florida Community College), joined Officer Candidate School, and graduated from the University of South Florida.

He joined the Marine Corps in 1966 as a second lieutenant. Olin served in the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969 and retired from the Marines in 1986 as a lieutenant colonel.

He piloted helicopters in the war and performed many missions picking up soldiers in combat areas.

"My husband once performed an extraction of soldiers in combat and the helicopter came under fire. He returned as the only one alive on the aircraft," Cheryl Olin said.

“George also flew in a CH-46 helicopter dispensing Agent Orange and he would get soaked with it by the prop wash. The exposure to the chemical killed him. He had nightmares about his service in the war and it stayed with him all his life.”

Decoration and citations listed on his records include: Combat Action Ribbon; Air Medal; Navy Achievement Medal with "V"; Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry w/Palm; and a Presidential Unit Commendation.

By the mid-1970s Olin commanded a headquarters in Hawaii, where he and Cheryl first met. They married in 2001.

Olin's military career included serving as deputy chief of naval operations for air warfare at the Pentagon from 1976 to 1982, and he commanded a helicopter maintenance squadron.

The couple has lived in Ocklawaha since 2001.

Jimmy Luffman of Lakeland, George Olin’s half-brother, said “all of (Vietnam veterans are) amazing. He would be honored.”

Luffman said he was also honored by the recognition for his half-brother, with whom he was very close.

Marion County Tax Collector George Albright, a friend of George Olin’s, called the veteran a “true American hero.”

The "In Memory Honor Roll” states Olin was involved in agri-business in Orlando and Candler following his military career. The profile states he was a "Marine's Marine" who "lost a year long battle with cancer."

About George J. Carson

Maggie Carson, daughter of George J. Carson, U.S. Army Green Beret sergeant first class, retired, read her father’s name aloud during the ceremony.

“As I read my Dad's name, I was reminded of a quote he had printed on a T-shirt: 'I am not a hero but I did have the honor to walk beside a few,' ” she wrote in an email after the ceremony.

“My father served with the 5th Special Forces Group, Airborne, while in Vietnam. He

worked in demolition and mine warfare," she wrote prior to the ceremony.

"The ceremony will be extremely emotional for me. My father, who served two tours, came home from the Vietnam War and the war came home with him. Agent Orange exposure contributed to his death," Maggie Carson said before going to the ceremony.

An obituary for George Carson posted in the Star-Banner states the Methuen, Massachusetts native served more than four years in Alaska and as an Army recruiter in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Carson was a member of American Legion Al Krietemeyer Memorial Post 284 in Belleview and a member of the post's American Legion Riders as well as the patriot Guard Riders of Central Florida, the obituary states.

Joyce Dussault, who is Maggie Carson’s spouse and George Carson’s daughter-in-law, is also a member of the American Legion Riders. Dussault accompanied Maggie Carson to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and read George Carson’s name.

Maggie Carson said her father was active in the Wreaths Across America program and she recalled a comment on the WAA Facebook page by Karen Worcester which states: "A person dies twice, once when they take their last breath and again the last time their name is spoken."

"With my dad's name in the 'In Memory Honor Roll' he will not be forgotten," she said.

About Richard P. Soucy

Richard P. Soucy served in the Army for 13 years in Korea and during the Vietnam era in Army security, according to an obituary posted online by Mulhane Home for Funerals in Millbury, Massachusetts.

Several attempts to reach Soucy’s family were unsuccessful.

The "In Memory Honor Roll” profile states Soucy was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam and he “passed from lung cancer caused by exposure to Agent Orange."

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Three deceased vets from Marion County, Florida honored in D.C.