[Archived] Committee Seeks Names for Vietnam Memorial

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

The committee established by the Alexandria City Council to plan "The Rocky Versace Plaza and Vietnam Memorial" is asking the public to submit the names of Alexandria military personnel who lost their lives in the Vietnam War to be considered for permanent display on the memorial.

The memorial, created in honor of Captain Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace, a former Alexandria resident who was captured, tortured and executed during the Vietnam War, will be placed at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center, as a tribute to Captain Versace and all Alexandrians who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

Currently, 61 servicemen have been identified for inclusion on the memorial. These individuals are:

CAPT Paul M. Bayliss (Air Force) SSGT Douglas Randolph Blodgett (Army)
SGT Ray Burmaster Browne (Army SF) CAPT George Burton Colgan II (Army)
PVT Ross Willard Collins Jr. (Army) WO1 Raymond Lester Conway (Army)
CPL Robert William Cupp (Army) MAJ Joseph Edwin Davies (Air Force)
SGT Robert William Dean (Army) SGT James Wheeler Dickey (Army)
PFC Bernard Guy J. Dillenseger (Army) MAJ Morgan Jefferson Donahue (Air Force)
CPL Charles Henry Elliott Jr. (Army) LCPL Richard Holt Freudenthal (Marine Corps)
CPL Thomas Mark Gaither (Army) PFC Darrell Lee Gibbons (Marine Corps)
LCPL Donald Wade Gill Jr. (Marine Corps) WO1 Bruce Elliot Graham (Army)
1LT Richard Tenney Gray (Air Force) 1LT Cleveland Ray Harvey (Marine Corps)
PFC Richard William Hoffler (Marine Corps) PFC Kermit W. Holland Jr. (Marine Corps)
SP5 William David Holmes (Army) CPL Wayne Lamont Jordan (Marine Corps)
CPL Herman Leroy Judy Jr. (Army) MAJ Paul Richard Karas (Army)
LCPL Michael John Keberline (Marine Corps) SP4 Michael John Kilduff (Army)
SGT James Edward King (Army) 2LT Henry Alverson Ledford (Marine Corps)
SP4 David Atwood Lerner (Army) CAPT George B. Lockhart (Air Force)
PFC Michael Eugene Ludwig (Army) PFC Philip Newman Malone (Marine Corps)
CAPT Tschann Scott Mashburn (Army) 1LT Leland S. McCants II (Army)
SP4 Michael Joseph McCarron (Army) PFC Kevin C. McElhannon Jr. (Army)
LTJG Kenneth Earl Norris (Navy) 1LT Brian Joseph O’Callaghan (Army)
SSGT Clarence M. Overbay Jr. (Army) SP5 Henry Lindsay Page II (Army)
CAPT Joseph Lewis Powell Jr. (Marine Corps) PFC Harry F. Richardson Jr. (Army)
CAPT Kenneth Robert Sawyer (Army) A02 Joseph Clarence Shartzer (Navy)
SP4 Johnny Jerome Smith (Army) CAPT Henry Mershon Spengler II (Army)
1LT Lewis Lynn Stone (Army) SGT Charles Lee Suthard Jr. (Marine Corps)
SGT Michael Oliver Thomas (Army) SP4 Matthew Winston Thornton (Army)
PFC Foster Jewell G. Touart Jr. (Marine Corps) PVT Jeron Franklin Valentine (Army)
SFC David James Warczak (Army SF) CPL James Clinton Ward (Marine Corps)
PFC Ronald Wayne Ward (Army) LTC Robert Earl Whitbeck (Army)
PFC Raymond Leroy Williams (Army) SA John Anthony Winkler (Navy)
MAJ Carl L. Young (Army)

The committee also will seek proposals for the design of the memorial, which will be designed and built over the next year.

Chaired by Councilman David Speck, the committee consists of City staff, representatives of the Commission for the Arts, the Park and Recreation Commission and three members of the "Friends of Rocky Versace."

The committee was created after Alexandria City Council voted unanimously in December to construct a memorial honoring Captain Versace, a 1959 West Point graduate who received the Silver Star for heroism while in captivity. Captain Versace is currently under consideration for the Congressional Medal of Honor and his heroism is documented in the book, Five Years to Freedom, authored by fellow captive and West Point classmate Nick Rowe.

The West Point Class of 1959 also has agreed to donate up to $5,000 for a display case to be placed in the lobby of the recreation center. The case will contain memorabilia such as military medals, ribbons, photographs and other items donated by the Versace family. "The Friends of Rocky Versace" will provide a software database for the computer room at the recreation center, which will provide links to the names of the Alexandria servicemen listed on the memorial, in addition to other related sites.

To submit the names of individuals for the memorial or for more information regarding the Versace project, call the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities at (703) 838-4842.