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At a Vietnam veterans’ commemoration ceremony last Saturday, Fairfax-area residents shared deeply personal accounts of loved ones who died, returned home changed or suffered lasting health problems after serving in the war.
Linda Thompson, a member of the DAR, spoke about her former husband, Roger Stollings, who served as a Marine corporal in Vietnam. She said he continues to experience multiple health problems linked to Agent Orange exposure.
Thompson also remembered her brother, Walter Duncan, who was drafted at 18 while employed and engaged to be married. During one battle, she said, his platoon was pinned down by Viet Cong gunfire. Duncan left his unit’s position and threw a grenade at the opposing fighters, saving his platoon.
He was mortally wounded and died in action. Duncan received the Bronze Star with a “V” for valor. His fiancée still places a red rose on his grave every Memorial Day, Thompson said.
Fairfax resident Mary Claire Hess honored her father, who gave up a four-year Princeton scholarship to join the Marine Corps at 17. In Vietnam, he and his men served as forward observers with the 3rd Marine Division just north of the Demilitarized Zone.
Before deploying, he swore Hess into the Air Force. She said he returned from Vietnam a different person and later served as a battalion commander at Parris Island, South Carolina. He died after doctors discovered a brain tumor attributed to Agent Orange exposure.
Hess said her 100-year-old mother still remembers him every day, as do Hess and her siblings.
Corinne Keyes, another DAR member from Fairfax, remembered her father, Maj. Jerome Keyes, who completed three tours in Vietnam. He survived the war but never discussed what he experienced there.
Keyes said her family regrets never hearing those stories and urged other veterans to speak about their service. Her father died at 48 from a malignant brain tumor related to Agent Orange, she said.
Fairfax Mayor Catherine Read paid tribute to D.R. Butler, a Rotary Club district governor who served multiple tours in Vietnam. He later taught at George Mason University’s honors college into his 80s. Read described his life as representative of the sacrifices made by those called to serve.
She also recognized her former husband, Ron Read, who served in Vietnam with the Royal Australian Navy. Now living in Melbourne, he lectures and writes books about military history.
Read noted that more than a dozen countries served alongside American forces in Vietnam. She expressed gratitude to those allies and to the nations that have supported American troops in other conflicts, reaching back to Gen. Lafayette’s role in the American Revolution.
After the ceremony, Thompson said the gathering mattered because many Vietnam veterans continue to suffer while feeling unappreciated. Though they may conceal their pain, she said, the tears, embraces and words of comfort exchanged during the event showed the depth of emotions that remain.