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WHO WE ARE |
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The
most important people at The Virtual Wall are the women and men who are named on The Wall, represented by these two photos from the Faces of Freedom index. |
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The volunteers who work on The Virtual Wall®order, have contributed thousands of hours helping relatives and friends of Vietnam War casualties through their work on The Virtual Wall. If you would like to help, please tell us! |
| Karen Asher (Emeritus): Karen has been involved in Vietnam Veteran issues on the internet since it's early days. On Veterans Day 1995 and 1996, she and Tim Duffie created a web site named "The Virtual Wall" that displayed, one at a time, each of the more than 58,000 names on the Wall. They eagerly granted the use of the name "The Virtual Wall" for this web site in March, 1997. | |
| IN MEMORY | Mike Brzozowski: Mike founded a small Internet service, Integration Incorporated of Batavia, New York. When the founders of The Virtual Wall asked if he would provide free Internet service for The Virtual Wall, Mike very enthusiastically agreed, and helped us get up and running. Mike was not a Veteran but he had been to the Wall and understood its meaning. When we asked how we could advertise his donation of Internet services Mike said "Absolutely not! That would be like pasting advertising on the real Wall." For 4 1/2 years iinc.com provided Internet services to The Virtual Wall absolutely free, until failing health caused Mike to sell the business. We shall miss his help and his respect for the dignity and honor of the Wall. |
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Ken Davis: Ken served in the Navy with Attack Squadron 85 as a bomber/navigator on A6 Intruder jets, flying missions over North Vietnam and Laos from the carriers USS AMERICA and USS CONSTELLATION (1968-70). He retired as a Commander in 1988, is an active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and is on the city council of Toccoa, Georgia. Ken has personally made several thousand memorial pages on The Virtual Wall and was elected president of www.VirtualWall.org, Ltd. on July 5, 2003. |
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Mike Davis: Mike served two tours in Viet Nam as an Army helicopter pilot with the UTT/68th/197th Armed Helicopter Company and the AH-1G HueyCobra NET Team. Mike is the National Director of VCV, Ltd.; VET-NET™, through which he provides assistance to Veterans and their family members. Mike is dedicated to helping assure that Veterans and their families are properly recognized and treated by their government and society. SEE FOOTNOTE |
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John Devitt: John attended the opening ceremonies of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982, and wanted to find a way to take "The Wall" into the cities and small towns of America. In 1984, his idea and creation, The Moving Wallª was first displayed in Tyler Texas and has since visited more than 1000 cities and small towns. John is shown here, left, with Gerry Haver, another of the founders of The Moving Wall. SEE FOOTNOTE |
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Tim Duffie: Tim has been involved in Vietnam Veteran issues on the internet since it's early days. On Veterans Day 1995 and 1996, they made a web site named "The Virtual Wall" that displayed, one at a time, each of the more than 58,000 names on the Wall. They eagerly granted the use of the name "The Virtual Wall" for this web site in March, 1997. Tim has created and maintained the CAP Vet's web site. SEE FOOTNOTE |
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Rick Fry: Rick became involved with www.no-quarter.org in 1996 and currently maintains the site. Rick volunteered his programming services to The Virtual Wall and assisted with development of the Coffelt database search engine. Rick served as a B52 Bomb/Nav avionics technician and eventually found his true calling as a computer programmer with the 42nd Logistics Group at Loring AFB, Maine from 1986 to 1994. He currently lives in Tyler, Texas. He is married, has two daughters, and became a "Grandpa" in 2004. |
| Tom Holloway (Emeritus): Tom spent thousands of volunteer hours building the original Combat Area Casualty File, which is used for ALL Wall Search sites on the web. He wrote the extensive documentation which allows all those sites to present "details" on each name. | |
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Deanna Shlee Hopkins: Deanna was born in 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, with her parents and older brother when she was three years old. She graduated from North Phoenix High School in 1959. Deanna's brother joined the Air Force and did his basic at Lackland AFB. Deanna Shlee Hopkins' "My Vigil at the Vietnam Wall" was awarded first place for non-fiction in The Traveler, a literary and creative arts magazine. This moving article has been the subject of readings and discussions at National and Regional Collegiate and University Honor Conventions and Leadership Conferences. Deanna is also a platoon leader and dedicated hard worker of the Vietnam Veterans Home Page. SEE FOOTNOTE |
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Ann Kelsey (Emeritus): Ann was a civilian employee of Army Special Services as a librarian at Cam Ranh Bay, Dong Ba Thin and Nha Trang, Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. Ann is very active in collecting and publishing the history of American women who served in Vietnam. Ann is a National Park Service volunteer at The Wall and is on the board of directors of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation. SEE FOOTNOTE |
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Julie Kink: Julie Kink is a sister of WO1 David Kink, a helicopter pilot who served with C Troop, 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry and was killed in Vietnam in 1969. She is a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Veteran's Soul, serves on the Family Contacts Committee of the Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network, is an honorary member of the VHPA, 9th Cavalry Regiment-US Army, Bullwhip Squadron Assn., and an associate member of the VHCMA, VVA Chapter 470, and the 1st Cavalry Division Assn. Julie writes for a weekly newspaper in Stillwater, Minnesota and is public relations coordinator for a private adoption agency. Julie has also been adopted as little sister by several hundred helicopter crewmen and pilots. SEE FOOTNOTE |
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Rebecca LaRussa My husband, Lenny, and I have two daughters, two sons, three dogs and no grandchildren...yet!!! After visiting the Wall in DC last summer (2005), I connected with The Virtual Wall and the rest is history. I love proofreading and have received quite an education reading the memorials. It is something that has become very important to me and I plan to be a "lifer". |
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Glen Luse On December 3, 1969, at the age of fifteen, Glen opened the door to see two gentlemen in Army Class A uniforms ask if his parents were home. His brother Ken, the oldest of three boys, was missing in action. Two weeks later Ken's status was changed to KIA. Ken made his last flight on December 30, 1969 and was laid to rest on December 31,1969. In 2001, Glen made contact with volunters who work on The Virtual Wall and was guided to B Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Division. The contacts with the Vets who knew Ken have helped the Vets and Glen in their healing. Glen has become a proud Lifetime Honorary Member of The Bullwhip Squadron Assn. The closure that Glen received from this experience has given him the determination to now become a proud volunteer on The Virtual Wall. Glen's ultimate dream is that every family member and every vet Come Home, just as he has done. SEE FOOTNOTE |
| Bill McBride: Bill is a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel. Bill created and still manages the first internet web site for Vietnam War veterans - the Vietnam Veterans Home Page. SEE FOOTNOTE | |
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Dan Mouer: After having gone through one summer of midshipmens' boot camp in San Diego as a Navy ROTC midshipman in 1964, Dan quit college, got married, had a kid, and landed in the Army a year later. Trained as a combat engineer, he wound up in South Vietnam's Central Highlands with the 70th Combat Engineers. Duties included machine gunners, dump truck driver, bridge specialist, and combat materiel stock clerk for S-4 (four months). Now he is an anthropologist / archaeologist newly retired from the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University . Dan runs a general discussion list for Vietnam veterans, as well as a web site and discussion for those who served with the 70th Engineers and attached units. Dan has written much about his experiences in Vietnam, and since the war, and many veterans have read his often-published internet mini-essay, "What is a Vietnam Veteran?". SEE FOOTNOTE |
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Barb Piatt: Barb was one of the first persons to create personal memorials on the Internet to those who died in the Vietnam War — for her fiancé Juan Sedillo and friend Ernie Madrid. Barb's personal and deep insight into the reasons people visit The Virtual Wall and leave memorials here has provided direction, purpose, and compassion. Barb and her husband Casey have been involved in Internet Veteran activities since the early days of the Internet. |
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Channing Prothro: A native Texan, Channing went on active duty in the US Marine Corps on October 27, 1969. He served with a Combined Action Platoon (CAP) while in Viet Nam. He is currently married and has one daughter, Amber, and two grandchildren, Aaron and Ashley. Channing is married and living happily in Denton, Texas where he owns his own computer consulting company. Channing is Webmaster of The Moving Wallª web site and Linkmaster of The Virtual Wallª site. SEE FOOTNOTE |
| Corky Condon Regenthal (Emeritus): Former Director of the In Touch program of the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and one of the incorporators of Sons and Daughters In Touch. Corky is the daughter of LCDR Robert E. Condon KIA 18Jan68. SEE FOOTNOTE | |
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David Regenthal: Dave served in the Vietnam War with the 75th Rangers on Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. He was webmaster for the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He is webmaster for The 75th Ranger Regiment Association and Company F, 75th Rangers |
| Colleen Keenan Reynolds (Emeritus): Colleen placed a memorial on The Virtual Wall to her brother CW2 John S. Keenan. A few months later she came back to her brother's memorial page through a search engine that put advertising above her brother's memorial. Mistakenly believing the commercials were caused by The Virtual Wall, she expressed disgust and despair to us. This demonstrated that she believed, as we do, that honoring those who died in service to their country should not be commercialized. She served us well as an advisor for several years. | |
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Larry Russell: Larry served two tours in Vietnam as an Army helicopter pilot, with B/227th-1st Air Cavalry and the 1st Aviation Brigade. He arrived in Vietnam five days before the 1968 Tet offensive and quickly found himself flying combat assaults around Hue, Khe Sanh, and the A Shau valley. His logbook shows three more take offs than landings. Larry is the Webmaster of the Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network, a life member of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, and the South Carolina Helicopter Association. SEE FOOTNOTE |
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Jim Schueckler: Also known as "Polecat" (center) was an Army helicopter pilot with the 192nd Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam 1969-70. Jim and his wife Judy have two sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren. Jim was one of the founders of The Virtual Wall® and served as president of www.VirtualWall.org, Ltd. from March, 1997 to July, 2003. Jim and a friend invented and patented the combination digital camera and cell phone. Jim is a member of Sons and Daughters In Touch (Vet member), Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, Vietnam Helicopter Crew Members Association, Vietnam Veterans of America, The American Legion, and Veterans of the Vietnam War. SEE FOOTNOTE |
| Chris Shepard: Author of the first internet web site to provide visitors the ability to search the Vietnam casualty database: the Vietnam Casualty Search Page at www.no-quarter.org which is still free of commercialism. He is also a former "Platoon Guide" for Bill McBride's Vietnam Veterans Home Page. SEE FOOTNOTE | |
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Nancy Smoyer: Nancy was a Red Cross "Donut Dolly" in Vietnam in '67-'68, stationed at An Khe, Danang and Cu Chi. She is a National Park Service volunteer at the Wall and a Vet Center counselor. Her essay "A Day in the Life of a Volunteer" has been used as a teaching guide for volunteers who work at the Wall and The Moving Wall. Other Vietnam writings by Nancy can be found at In Country Women. SEE FOOTNOTE |
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Karen Spears Zacharias : is the daughter of Staff Sergeant David P. Spears, KIA, 1966. Karen was a 1998 nominee for Georgia Author of the Year for the book BENCHED: The Memoirs of Judge Rufe McCombs. She's won numerous journalism awards including from the Society of Professional Journalists. SheÕs a contributing columnist for Vietnam Veterans of America and Legacies magazines. She serves on the national board for the Orphans of War Foundation. Her columns have appeared in dozens of newspapers and periodicals. Karen is a member of the Tropic Lightning 25th Infantry Division Association, Pleiku Pals, and Sons & Daughters In Touch. She is a contributing columnist for the Amy Foundation and contributing writer for Power for Living magazine. She has recently completed a book about the aftermath of her father's death, titled HERO MAMA. . SEE FOOTNOTE |
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