History...To Honor the Warriors; Winn Par., Louisiana
Submitter: Billy Hill
Date: 15 Mar 2005
Source: by Eugene Chelette
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To Honor the Warriors
By Eugene Chelette

Viet Nam veteran, delivered at dedication of Veterans' Memorial, Dodson, Louisiana, November
11, 2000

Today with this monument and these names, we have come full circle with our veterans, both living and dead. Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen, honored guests, and fellow veterans.  My name is Eugene Chelette, and I represent the Viet Nam Veterans.  To all the veterans that are here today, we would like to say, Thank You, for your service to our contry, and Welcome Home.

After Desert Storm, Welcome Home is coming back in style.  And after 25 years, it sure sounds good to me. Without a welcome, some of our vets went wild, and others just want the world to let them be. More Nam vets died from suicide than died in Viet Nam.  Our streets are full of homeless vets, our jails are over-run.  So, Welcome Home the veteran.  Show him that you care. And pray that these will be the last vets coming home from anywhere. Today, as we honor these names on that wall, I would like to honor the men who were sent from our hometown to serve in
Viet Nam. There were four of us - Lynn Mathews, Ted Broomfield, Perry Peoples, and myself. The Good Lord saw fit to take two and leave two, and today we honor their names. 

Pfc Ted Dewane Broomfield, U.S. Marine Corps, born 11 December, 1946, killed in action 12 November 1966. Ted was 19 years old.

Lance Cpl. Perry Lee Peoples, U.S. Marine Corps, born 26 April, 1944, killed in action 26 April, 1967.  Perry was killed on his birthday.  He was 23 years old. We missed them then, we miss them now.  But with their names on the wall, we are all back together again.

Today there's a hole in the floor of Heaven, and Ted and Perry are looking down, and they are proud of what we have done here today. We are not here to glorify war.  We are here to glorify the warrior.  And only the ones who were there will ever know. This wall unites us as a people
to form the greatest nation on God's good earth. Please don't let this be your last time that you come and face this wall.  Come as often as need be, to show love, respect, and honor because they are more than just names on a wall. Thank you all for coming, and may God Bless
America, again.