R.W. Williams, 63, a Vietnam veteran at the VA health center in Los Angeles. He is seen here on the campus near a mural honoring soldiers.; Credit: Nancy Pastor for NPR
The names of 5,622 soldiers from California who died in combat in the Vietnam War are etched on the panels of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Sacramento. A bill signed into law last year by Gov. Jerry Brown requires that names be added by the California Department of Veterans Affairs to the monument every year until 2020.
Previously, only service members died in the line of duty were included, but now, vets who died from war-related causes like exposure to Agent Orange or suicides tied to post-traumatic stress disorder could also be eligible. The move has rankled critics, who feel that the inclusion of non-combat deaths strays from the original intent of the memorial. They suggest that those who died from war-related illnesses could be honored in a separate section of the memorial instead.
Guests:
Pete Conaty, a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel who served in Vietnam. He is also an adviser to the CalVets Vietnam memorial name committee
Zack Earp, a Vietnam vet who was exposed to Agent Orange during combat. He’s a director of the Inland Empire Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America