Vietnam Veterans Memorial unveiled

Story was written on deadline for the next day's front page.

Arthur James Anderson.

Ralph Lee Ford.

Leo Fred Johnson.

The names were etched in three slabs of cold black granite that stand next to the overpass of the Midpoint Bridge in Fort Myers.

The jarring sound of motorcycles passing by on McGregor Boulevard echoed in the Sunday afternoon breeze.

"It's important to make sure we are constantly reminded of the price of war," Craig Tonjes said.

He spoke to a crowd of veterans, family and friends who'd gathered to remember and honor the 76 area servicemen - the names the stone walls bear - as he unveiled the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Southwest Florida, the area's first.

Tonjes spearheaded the memorial project and helped to collect the estimated $50,000 needed to build it.

"Whether you supported the Vietnam War or not, how can you not help but recognize the efforts of those who served?" he said. "One hundred years from now, I want children to see this memorial and wonder who these men were."

James Alvin Pace.

Allan James Williams.

Nicholas Joseph Cutinha.

"It's a very moving day," said Julia Habig of Fort Myers. She came to honor her son, William Habig, who served in Vietnam. "They took 10 years to build it but it's finally here."

Set back from McGregor Boulevard, the memorial also features a bronze field cross, consisting of boots, a rifle and a helmet.

During combat, the field cross is arranged by soldiers in lieu of a proper funeral when a comrade dies on the battlefield.

"I feel honored to be able to come and see this. ... It's about time they did something like this," said John Belviso, 58, of Cape Coral, who spent a year in Vietnam.

Cullie Wilson Bryant

Donald William Atwell Jr.

Christopher J. Dean Jr.

Sixty thousand veterans live in Lee County and the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 594 wanted to make sure they weren't forgotten. The group organized the ceremony to include a re-enactment by the Suncoast Vietnam Veterans of Pinellas County.

At one point, a helicopter flew overhead, startling white egrets that had gathered in a nearby pond.

Dressed in fatigues and rifles held close, a Last Patrol group showed how servicemen in that unit would have conducted a mission behind enemy lines in Vietnam.

"The smoke, music and the people puts you there. As soon as you step out on patrol. ... You are right back (at war)," said Ted Marshall, 56, who lived in Lehigh Acres for 10 years and is an Air Force K-9 unit Vietnam Veteran.

Once the smoke bombs cleared and a final 21-gun salute reverberated in people's ears, guests walked up to the memorial.

Many bowed their heads and looked at the names of the fallen soldiers on the wall.

Others stood straight, heads held high, and gave a final salute as they looked at the letters carved in the black slabs.

Robert Gene Floyd.

Frederick C. Forte Jr.

Stephen Douglas Gucofski.