More Than Names On A Wall

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More Than Names On A Wall: Remembering Bucks County's Veterans who lost their lives serving our country during the Vietnam War.

Each December on what is usually a cold Saturday night in Doylestown at the south end of the courthouse, people gather from as far as Easton, PA not to occupy or protest, but to honor.  They gather as they have for the last 21 plus years to honor those whose names appear on the Bucks County Vietnam Veterans Memorial War Memorial – “The Wall”.  Family and friends of those remembered as well as residents of the area come to honor, to remember and to reflect.

The idea to erect a tree and decorate it with ornaments bearing the names of the fallen was the idea of Neil and Sherry Wolfe.  Neil was a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran who wanted to honor those who could never again celebrate Christmas with their families.  Neil passed away before last year’s 20th annual celebration but his wife vowed to continue the tradition.

The ceremony includes the decorating of the tree with the ornaments that are handed to each attendee as the names are recited.   This continues until all the names have been placed upon the tree.  Additionally, those Vietnam Veterans who have passed since the construction of the wall are honored as well as a remembrance ornament for each of the conflicts that the nation has been involved in since World War I. 

Each year, the ceremony ends with a prayer and the singing of “Silent Night”.  After the 2010 ceremony, one of the attendees, Jim McComb went home with an empty feeling.  He felt that there should be something much more.  The names were being recited but there was no face, no story attached to the names.  So, the following month , Jim discussed with a few of his Vietnam Veterans friends that he would like to research those on the wall that gave their lives and put into writing a document that could give them a face rather than just a name.  After several weeks of research by Jim and a few of his friends, it was decided that this effort should be a part of a book for all to have access.

Jim painstakingly spent several hours each week researching via internet, the names of each of the 136 Bucks County residents who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam or who were missing in action.  Some research provided a lot of information and some did not.  Many sites were searched and in some cases, families were contacted, something Jim ceased to do after he found that it was painful for some to speak of their loss.

Finally, Jim’s goal of publishing this work so that it would be available for the 2011 ceremony was realized.  “More Than Names on a Wall” was published. 

Jim is a native of Philadelphia, but has been a Bucks County resident for over 15 years.  He is a former US Marine and has been Commander of VFW Post 175.  He is a member of the Marine Corps League, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 210 and the American Legion Post 210.

In his introduction to the book, he says, "It is said that a man has not died as long as he is remembered."   Jim has ensured with this work that these men will not be forgotten.  There are also contributions by other Vietnam Veterans in the foreword section of the book, telling their thoughts on the Memorial publication.  ALL proceeds from this publication are deposited into a fund that is used exclusively to assist Veterans.

The book is available at the and on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Names-Wall-Remembering/dp/1466467541/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334630811&sr=8-1

On May 16th  2012 at the Doylestown Library in the Pearl S Buck room at 7 p.m., Jim will go into more detail about how and why he put this work together.  Admission is free. 

Come and hear Jim discuss the trials and tribulations with amassing this type of work, the discovery of a Medal of Honor recipient on the wall and other items of interest about this awesome compilation that honors our Bucks County fallen heroes of the war in Vietnam.