Twenty-six Iowa veterans to be inducted into Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s 'In Memory' program
More than 500 Vietnam veterans, including 26 from Iowa, will be inducted into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s In Memory program next month.
In Memory, a program that honors Vietnam veterans who came home from war and later died, was established by the group Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1993. VVMF took over the program and began hosting the annual ceremony in 1999. Since its inception, In Memory has honored over 5,000 Vietnam veterans.
"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," VVMF President Jim Knotts said in a news release May 13. "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."
The 2022 In Memory ceremony will be held June 18 on the East Knoll of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. This year, 513 veterans will be honored during the event.
"Every year, we hear stories of healing and closure that they’re finally able to have," said Julianna Blaylock, outreach manager at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. "We’re able to honor these Vietnam veterans who statistically were really treated poorly when they got home and weren’t given those honors when they got home from Vietnam."
One of the local veterans accepted to the In Memory program this year was Wallace (Wally) Frederick Crawford of Des Moines. Crawford was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during an ambush while on reconnaissance in Vietnam, injuries that continued to ail him until he died in 2020.
"He was shot through the abdomen, so he had a bowel resection which caused difficulties the rest of his life," his widow Julie Crawford said. "He was also exposed to Agent Orange, which caused later surgery and problems."
After his discharge from the military, Wally Crawford finished his business degree at the University of Cincinnati, where he was active in student government, politics and the school newspaper. He later became business partners with his brother, Dave Crawford, at the Crawford Brothers Company in Des Moines for 17 years.
"I think that the thing that I would categorize with Wally was his generosity," Julie Crawford said. "He wanted to help people. I think the greatest joy in his life was sharing with others, whether that be information or helping. And he had a great deal of courage to stand up for what he believed in, he would not back down from anything that he thought was right. He had a real strength of spirit."
Julie Crawford began following the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation because of her husband's war injuries and quickly learned about the In Memory program. The application asks families for proof of service, a death certificate, a short biography and photos of the nominee.
"I sent an application this year for him to be included, and I was so thrilled when he was," she said. "I was surprised at how soon I found out about it, that he was accepted, it was within a month."
For Julie Crawford, the opportunity to honor her late husband through the In Memory program has made up for some of the poor treatment he and other veterans experienced after coming home from the war.
"Wally's experience was that he was spit on in Los Angeles when he got off the plane," she said. "And he said that the first person that ever thanked him for his service was in 1993, over 20 years later. So I think that's part of what's behind the strength of this memorial."
The couple's son, Iain Crawford, will fly from Reno to join his mother at the In Memory ceremony. Julie Crawford looks forward to meeting the other veterans' families to collectively honor their loved ones.
"I think the In Memory programs also helps the family, that the loss of their loved one means something to the community and to the country, that they were a part of something," she said. "They call the memorial the Wall That Heals, and I think there's a lot of truth to that. I'm just so grateful for the work of these volunteers and supporters that have made this possible."
Families can apply to have their veteran honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website. Each honored veteran receives a personal remembrance page on the In Memory Honor Roll and their families are invited to the ceremony in Washington, D.C.
2022 In Memory inductees from Iowa:
Joseph M. Bauer of Audubon, U.S. Marine Corps: Oct. 22, 1950-March 9, 2021
Dennis Lee Beckler of Wellman, U.S. Army: June 29, 1947-May 8, 2021
Larry Eugene Brandow of Norwalk, U.S. Marine Corps: Jan. 12, 1947-May 29, 2021
Robert John Brandsfield of Des Moines, U.S. Army: May 19, 1950-Aug. 6, 2017
William Dennis Chambers of Essex, U.S. Army: June 7, 1949-Jan. 4, 2022
Gary Allan Clemon of Sioux City, U.S. Army: May 19, 1945-July 14, 2019
Wallace Frederick Crawford of Des Moines, U.S. Navy: March 23, 1946-March 29, 2020
Arthur L. Dayton of Webster City, U.S. Marine Corps: Aug. 4, 1945-Oct. 13, 2009
David Lee Foster of Marengo, U.S. Marine Corps: Jan. 26, 1947-April 7, 2021
Dean L. Frost of Gilbertville, U.S. Army: June 13, 1950-Jan. 25, 2017
Edward Gaudet Jr. of DeWitt, U.S. Army: May 15, 1943-March 26, 2021
Tim A. Gilmore of Mason City, U.S. Navy: March 17, 1945-Dec. 28, 2004
Lester Clarence Hartman Jr. of Morning Sun, U.S. Army: July 26, 1945-Feb. 22, 1993
Phillip Leroy Henke of Council Bluffs, U.S. Army: March 12, 1947-Dec. 12, 2020
Joseph Leo Hoyka of Polk City, U.S. Navy: March 7, 1945-July 1, 2021
Alan Dean Jahnke of Burt, U.S. Army: July 25, 1948-Aug. 3, 2000
Roger T. Johnson of Shenandoah, U.S. Air Force: Nov. 1, 1941-March 7, 2021
Charles Joseph Lahr of Manchester, U.S. Army: Feb. 9, 1947-Dec. 26, 2020
James Allen McDonald of What Cheer, U.S. Army: April 19, 1938-Jan. 21, 2019
Dennis Lee Petersen of Kimballton, U.S. Navy: July 8, 1945-April 26, 1970
Dennis Lloyd Schnathorst of Newton, U.S. Army: Nov. 1, 1943-Oct. 2, 2019
Dale Allen Schroth of Hiawatha, U.S. Air Force: May 26, 1951-Jan. 8, 2021
William Earl Smith of Crawfordsville, U.S. Army: Aug. 17, 1948-Oct. 21, 2012
Tony Swarts of Ottumwa, U.S. Air Force: Sept. 15, 1945-Dec. 26, 2013
Cecil Ray Sypherd of Washington, U.S. Army: Jan. 7, 1943-March 7, 1996
Danny Lee White of Elliott, U.S. Army: Feb. 10, 1949-Nov. 19, 2020
Grace Altenhofen is a news reporter for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at galtenhofen@registermedia.com or on Twitter @gracealtenhofen.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Vietnam veterans from Iowa to be inducted into 'In Memory' program