Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Three New Names Set for Vietnam Memorial Wall

Aired May 27, 2002 - 12:38   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We have another chance now to witness how the nation is paying tribute to its war debt today.

CNN's Jonathan Aiken is at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, certainly a fitting place to be on this or any other Memorial Day.

And, Jonathan, we understand a very special speaker is going to be taking the podium in about an hour and a half or so.

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. Good afternoon.

People have been coming here all morning in anticipation of a ceremony that's going to honor the addition of three names to the wall. And I'm going to get into that in a moment. The keynote address will be given by a former Kansas senator, the majority leader in the Senate, former presidential candidate Bob Dole, well known war veteran who has raised money certainly for the World War II Memorial, which they plan to build here.

I want to talk more about what has been happening here at the memorial, at the Vietnam Memorial itself this morning. People have been coming in all morning. The numbers have been large since early this morning. And more coming of them are coming by the bus load -- Constitution Avenue, just over here to my left, dropping off tourists from time to time. And you see whole gaggles of people getting out and coming down.

In the 20 years since the wall has been formally dedicated and has stood as a public space here on the Mall, it has become one of the most popular memorials in this city, which is really saying something, given the number of memorials and monuments that exist in Washington D.C. And probably one of the main reasons for that, I think, is the fact that it is so personal. There are over 58,000 names, 58,229 names etched in granite. These are names of men and women either killed in action or still listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War.

These are family members. These are husbands. These are wives. These are boyfriends. These are girlfriends. These are loved ones. These are neighbors. And everyone has a story behind these names. And as visitors come down and as they walk along the wall -- and I'm sure, no doubt, that you have seen it not only in our coverage this Memorial Day, but in other times, too -- as they stop and look at the names, they tend to even look past the names themselves and connect more toward the individual whose name is on the wall.

And we have two examples of that for you from two people who just happen to be here, one of them an air cavalry veteran from 1967 to 1978 who served in Vietnam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the first thing I would do is give a salute to all these good soldiers who served their country. And I get really emotional sometimes. But most of the time, I smile and think of some of the good times we had when we were young soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we just wanted to pay our respects. And we also have two of our family on the Vietnam War wall. And this was a special day for us. So, we came as a family to participate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AIKEN: Now, as I mentioned, Senator Robert Dole, the former war veteran, former Kansas senator, former presidential candidate, will deliver a keynote speech here shortly. He'll be speaking probably at about 1:30 Eastern time. The ceremony itself, that's going to get under way at about 1:00. There will be several different speakers in advance of the former senator.

And all of this is in aid of marking the addition of three names to this wall. They were etched in granite by workmen just a few days ago. And the work was complete just on Thursday -- three names of individuals who died as a result of their service in Vietnam, the wounds they suffered. The names: Army Private First Class William Johnson Sr -- he hails from Cleveland Ohio -- Sergeant Richard Tooley (ph) of Bogalusa, Louisiana; and the third name, Army Private First Class Paul Zylko of Passaic, New Jersey.

Even though the names have been etched on the wall, Carol, it won't be formal until family members actually do read the names and talk a little bit about their sons and their husbands who were here and those who were in Vietnam and fought. We should also add that the status of 31 other names on the wall being changed from those listed as missing in action to those officially killed in action -- so, all of that being honored in these comments today.

And Arlington Cemetery, also a place where there has been activity taking place on this Memorial Day. As usual, it's a tradition: the ceremony at the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers -- the deputy defense secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, representing the Bush administration in a very poignant and short ceremony there that always includes silence, the Old Guard from Fort Myer and the playing of "Taps."

And so, it has been a very emotional day here in Washington and across the river at Arlington, Carol. And we are anticipating more emotion as the crowd fills and this ceremony is about to get under way, probably about 15, 20 minutes from now.

LIN: All right, we will check back with you then -- Jonathan Aiken reporting live from the Vietnam Memorial.

And at that ceremony today, they are expecting some 10,000 Americans there, family members of the missing or the dead.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com