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Dearborn Veterans To Honor 69 Men Who Died In Vietnam

DEARBORN (WWJ) - Dearborn will honor the 69 young soldiers from the community who lost their lives in the Vietnam War, most of them fresh-faced young men just out of high school.

About 150 family members and friends will attend the Memorial Day Parade, many of them walking in the parade or riding in a trolley, with others watching from the sidelines as groups participating in the parade carry special posters with the photos and names of their sons, husbands, brothers, cousins and neighbors.

The parade begins at 10:30 am on Monday, May 30, on Michigan Avenue between Greenfield and Schaefer.

It follows a solemn funeral procession at 9:30 am for three World I and World II veterans who died without resources and whose remains have been sitting in Dearborn funeral homes for years.

Lisa Lark, an English teacher at Edsel Ford High School, has worked hard since June 2010 to compile a history of Dearborn's Vietnam veterans lost while serving our country.

She contacted all of the families whose addresses she located for the deceased veterans. They shared their stories, and many of them are traveling from across the country to watch their loved one be recognized this Memorial Day.

One of the widows is flying half-way across the country to pick up her sister and together they are driving to Dearborn for this emotional tribute.

The project originally came about because Edsel Ford High School holds a Memorial Day ceremony every year in honor of the 23 Vietnam veterans from the school who died, and curious students began asking Lark, who used to teach social studies, about the men.

All who have come into contact with the surviving family members, even in the initial research phase, have had their lives transformed as they heard the powerful stories of remembrance.

"It has been my honor and privilege to have the families of these men share their lives and  stories with me. It has moved me beyond words and I hope I can do an adequate job of bringing their stories to life," Lark said in a statement.

For this day of reflecting on Dearborn's 69 fallen Dearborn Veterans, Lark will be assisted at the parade by adjunct instructor of history at Henry Ford Community College, Kimberly Dyer and Edsel Ford High School senior Michelle Kerr .

The Washington, D.C.-based Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has asked for a DVD copy containing photos and Lark's biographies of the men. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund established the Vietnam Wall and will be building a companion educational center.

Its goal is to put a face to every name on the wall, including those from Dearborn. At the Memorial Day Ceremony at City Hall they will accept the DVD images and will recognize Dearborn for its initiative and the example set for other communities to honor their Vietnam veterans.

Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council Commander Craig Tillman, a Vietnam veteran, fully supports the project and is grateful that Lark's work and the goals of the DAWVC for the 2011 Memorial Day Parade mirror each other well and only enhance the tribute to Vietnam veterans.

"Her project really hits home and personalizes Dearborn's losses. It will add meaning to the day for all those attending, as she turns faceless numbers into real people," Tillman said in a statement.

For more information on the project, visit the Dearborn's Vietnam Heroes Facebook page.

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