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American Morning
Interview With Family Members of Soldiers Killed in Vietnam
Aired May 26, 2003 - 09:51 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Many Americans today will pay their respects at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. Since 1990, the group Sons & Daughters In Touch has helped the children of servicemen who were killed in Vietnam to keep memories alive. About 50 men and women from that group went to Vietnam recently and they held memorials to honor their fallen fathers.
Two people who made that trip are joining us right now. Dennis Shine and Kimberly Kendrick are there in the front of the wall in the nation's capital.
Good morning.
Glad to have both of you with us this morning.
And you brought something, a bit of a surprise for us. I didn't expect you to show up with something. What is that you all are carrying?
DENNIS SHINE, SONS & DAUGHTERS IN TOUCH: These are urns that we had made for us for all of the sons and daughters in Vietnam. They have our names, our dad's names on them, China Beach, the day of the ceremony, March 13, 2003. And inside, Sons & Daughters collected various items while we were traveling across the country and we've, you know, made our personal tributes to our dads here that we can keep in our homes.
HARRIS: Now, tell us, first of all, Kimberly, let's start with you, why did you decide to go to Vietnam and what was that like for you?
KIMBERLY KENDRICK, SONS & DAUGHTERS IN TOUCH: The trip was incredible. I've never experienced anything like that in my life. The reason I wanted to go was I've never had a memory to share with my father and this was the only type of memory I could share with him was for me to go and see where he spent the last days of his life and to walk where he walked and see what he saw and smell the smells that he saw.
So now I finally have a memory that only I can share with my dad.
HARRIS: Dennis, what was it like for you when you went back? And I, from what I understand, you all didn't go back together. When you went there you separated once you hit the countryside there?
SHINE: That's right. The group stayed together for the first three days and then we broke out into smaller teams and the teams went to different parts of the country where our dads served. And so I was on the gold team, which went up to the northern Icorps (ph), which was the northernmost part of South Vietnam.
So Kim and I weren't together during those four days of tributes. But a similar experience. I didn't think I ever needed to go to Vietnam. My dad had only been in country for about five weeks before he was killed. But after being there and sharing this experience with this group, it really gave me some closure. It gave me a sense of inner peace and it's, it allowed me to take back a memory that I'll never forget.
HARRIS: If you were to be on that beach right now, Kimberly, if you take us back to when you were standing there in the sand there, you're there, thoughts and emotions are running through you. What is it that you would say at that moment to the rest of the world, to this country, about what happened there and about the sacrifice your father made?
KENDRICK: Being at the beach was incredible. It was our memorial service. Several veterans went back with us and to see them standing there and presenting us with our vases was incredible. It was like being with your father, in a sense. We had a ceremony. There were torches. We all got to say something about the meaning of the trip and why we were and about our fathers. The next night we did have a beach party and the thing I remember most with the beach party was dancing with the veterans, because I never got the chance to dance with my father.
So dancing with them was like dancing with my dad. And it was incredible.
HARRIS: Well, we are certainly glad you were able to find that moment of peace and to reach that in your heart, in your soul.
Thank you very much, Kimberly, for sharing that with us today.
KENDRICK: Thank you. Thank you.
HARRIS: We sure do appreciate that, as well.
Dennis, all the best to you, as well.
SHINE: Thank you.
HARRIS: Thanks to both of you for coming out and talking to us and sharing your story.
All the best to you down the road.
SHINE: Thanks very much.
KENDRICK: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Vietnam>
Aired May 26, 2003 - 09:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Many Americans today will pay their respects at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. Since 1990, the group Sons & Daughters In Touch has helped the children of servicemen who were killed in Vietnam to keep memories alive. About 50 men and women from that group went to Vietnam recently and they held memorials to honor their fallen fathers.
Two people who made that trip are joining us right now. Dennis Shine and Kimberly Kendrick are there in the front of the wall in the nation's capital.
Good morning.
Glad to have both of you with us this morning.
And you brought something, a bit of a surprise for us. I didn't expect you to show up with something. What is that you all are carrying?
DENNIS SHINE, SONS & DAUGHTERS IN TOUCH: These are urns that we had made for us for all of the sons and daughters in Vietnam. They have our names, our dad's names on them, China Beach, the day of the ceremony, March 13, 2003. And inside, Sons & Daughters collected various items while we were traveling across the country and we've, you know, made our personal tributes to our dads here that we can keep in our homes.
HARRIS: Now, tell us, first of all, Kimberly, let's start with you, why did you decide to go to Vietnam and what was that like for you?
KIMBERLY KENDRICK, SONS & DAUGHTERS IN TOUCH: The trip was incredible. I've never experienced anything like that in my life. The reason I wanted to go was I've never had a memory to share with my father and this was the only type of memory I could share with him was for me to go and see where he spent the last days of his life and to walk where he walked and see what he saw and smell the smells that he saw.
So now I finally have a memory that only I can share with my dad.
HARRIS: Dennis, what was it like for you when you went back? And I, from what I understand, you all didn't go back together. When you went there you separated once you hit the countryside there?
SHINE: That's right. The group stayed together for the first three days and then we broke out into smaller teams and the teams went to different parts of the country where our dads served. And so I was on the gold team, which went up to the northern Icorps (ph), which was the northernmost part of South Vietnam.
So Kim and I weren't together during those four days of tributes. But a similar experience. I didn't think I ever needed to go to Vietnam. My dad had only been in country for about five weeks before he was killed. But after being there and sharing this experience with this group, it really gave me some closure. It gave me a sense of inner peace and it's, it allowed me to take back a memory that I'll never forget.
HARRIS: If you were to be on that beach right now, Kimberly, if you take us back to when you were standing there in the sand there, you're there, thoughts and emotions are running through you. What is it that you would say at that moment to the rest of the world, to this country, about what happened there and about the sacrifice your father made?
KENDRICK: Being at the beach was incredible. It was our memorial service. Several veterans went back with us and to see them standing there and presenting us with our vases was incredible. It was like being with your father, in a sense. We had a ceremony. There were torches. We all got to say something about the meaning of the trip and why we were and about our fathers. The next night we did have a beach party and the thing I remember most with the beach party was dancing with the veterans, because I never got the chance to dance with my father.
So dancing with them was like dancing with my dad. And it was incredible.
HARRIS: Well, we are certainly glad you were able to find that moment of peace and to reach that in your heart, in your soul.
Thank you very much, Kimberly, for sharing that with us today.
KENDRICK: Thank you. Thank you.
HARRIS: We sure do appreciate that, as well.
Dennis, all the best to you, as well.
SHINE: Thank you.
HARRIS: Thanks to both of you for coming out and talking to us and sharing your story.
All the best to you down the road.
SHINE: Thanks very much.
KENDRICK: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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