Kerri: When Vietnam Became Real

Vietnam became real to me on an April morning in 1968. Long before there were 24/7 news cycles or the Internet, the information and images of that distant war were sparse, especially in a small town in Idaho. In the sophomore hallway at Coeur d’Alene High School, students began speaking in hushed tones about our classmates Carnie and Jeff McArthur’s brother. Steve McArthur had been killed in action in Vietnam and in that moment became the face of the war for me and many others. The names of all of Kootenai County’s hometown boys killed in Vietnam are etched on the black granite Killed in Action monument in the Ronald D. Rankin Veterans Memorial Plaza at the Kootenai County courthouse. So much more than names … the sons, brothers, husbands of our friends and neighbors, classmates. Lawrence Acre, Bill Blenkinsop, David Cinkosky, LeRoy Damiano, Steve McArthur, David Omstead, Russell Watson, Robert Wise, Thomas Funke, Franklin McNary, Robert Gordon, Howard Jones, Steven Nipp, Marshall Schaffner, Howard Waldron, Eugene Wolters — all giving their last full measure of devotion on the battlefield/ Kerri Thoreson , Main Street, Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.

Question: Did Vietnam ever become real to you?