VietNam and Desert Storm, and marriage, brought Veterans Day into focus. I remember vividly sitting in my car in the parking lot of Half Price Books on Veterans Day 1998 listening to Mark Davis of WBAP tell the story, one more time, of the grounding effect of Tim Irvine's song "After the War" on the gathered crowd at the Wall in Washington on Memorial Day 1993 - a crowd that was not disposed to warmly welcome President Clinton. (Mark was a working reporter that day. This is his recording of the song as it was performed.)
I sat behind the wheel with tears streaming down my face as I thought of my friend Pat Wood's lost son, Lester and the men and women I knew at the Valley Forge General Hospital. I thought of Paul's tour on the USS Dennis J. Buckley, the POWs and the MIA including Col. Roosevelt Hestle whose bracelet I wore for so many years and will wear today in his memory.
As songs do, particularly those that nudge your memories, the words kept echoing and I found myself thinking again and again of the thousands of reunions that have taken place at the Wall.
Paul and I take pride in being Pluggers - a concept originally drawn by the late (and wonderful) Jeff MacNelly and taken on by his friend and colleague Gary Brookins. I described the Plugger that the song evoked for me and Gary faithfully drew it with one huge addition - the perfect tear.
It ran for the first time on Memorial Day 1999 and has been reprised a time or two over the years.
I'm pleased to have this copy of the artwork.
Thank you Elmer and Edd and Slim and Roy and Bill and Paul (both of the Pauls) and Tom (and your Norden bomb site) and Lester and Roosevelt and my serving today Seal Chris.
love,
Helen
