Vietnam Graffiti Project
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/vietnam-graffiti-project-video-20100531
Exhibit at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum.
01 Jun 2010
Christine Devine
Los Angeles - The Vietnam War has been over for more than 30 years,
but many of those who fought and died there are being remembered in a
unique exhibit at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, called "The
Vietnam Graffiti Project."
The exhibit runs through August 28th.
You can get more information at: www.vietnamgraffiti.com .
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Story Script:
IT WAS THE 60'S. THE WAR IN VIETNAM WAS RAGING...
HERE ON THE WEST COAST... THOUSANDS OF YOUNG MEN, MOSTLY DRAFTEES,
WERE BOARDING TROOP SHIPS LIKE THE GENERAL NELSON WALKER... AND
HEADING TO SOUTHEAST ASIA...TO AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE ...
CHAPLAIN CHARLES VAN FRANK WAS A YOUNG NAVAL OFFICER ABOARD THE
GENERAL WALKER... HE SAYS THE YOUNG GI'S OFTEN CONFIDED IN HIM...
CHARLES VAN FRANK, FORMER CHAPLAIN:
"SOME HAD REAL JITTERS ABOUT GOING IN."
IT TOOK 19 DAYS TO CROSS THE PACIFIC... IT WAS HOT AND CROWDED AND
THE MEN WERE BORED AND ON EDGE... MANY TOOK UP WRITING THEIR THOUGHTS
ON THE CANVASS BUNKS THEY SLEPT ON EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AGAINST REGULATIONS.
CHARLES VAN FRANK, FORMER CHAPLAIN:
"GENERALLY THIS WAS WRITTEN FOR THE NEXT SOLDIER WHO WOULD COME. THEY
LEFT THEIR IDENTITY THEIR NAME AND ADDRESS SOMETIMES AND THEIR
FEELINGS ABOUT IT."
SOME ARE SIMPLE SCRIBBLINGS... JUST NAMES AND THE DATES THEY'LL GET
OUT OF THE SERVICE.
ONE SAYS... 350 DAYS TO GO OVER IN VIET NAM THAN I AM FREE.
OTHERS ARE MORE POIGNANT... THE THOUGHTS OF MEN HEADED TO WAR WHO
DIDN'T THINK THEY'D SURVIVE.
EXHIBITING ALL THIS WAS THE BRAINCHILD OF FORMER MARINE ART BELTRONE.
HE AND HIS SON BRENT SALVAGED ALL OF THESE ARTIFACTS.
BRENT BELTRONE, VIETNAM GRAFFITI PROJECT:
IT WAS LIKE STEPPING BACK IN TIME."
SOME OF THE SCRAWLINGS ON THE BUNKS ARE ANTI WAR SLOGANS... MAKE LOVE
NOT WAR... BAN THE BOMB... AND... YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MUST DECIDE
WHO'S TO LIVE AND WHO'S TO DIE.
SOME BUNKS HAD CARTOONS MAKING FUN OF THE ENEMY.
ONE BUNK HAD A BIG DRAWING OF A MAN CALLING ROOM SERVICE.. AND
CANCELING HIS ORDER FOR A CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH.
BELTRONE SAYS THIS ALL HELPS PEOPLE BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE
YOUNG MEN WERE THINKING AS THEY SAILED INTO WAR...
BRENT BELTRONE, VIETNAM GRAFFITI PROJECT:
"IT ADDS A VOICE TO SOMETHING THAT COULD EASILY BE FORGOTTEN AND THE
WRITINGS AND OPINIONS THE THOUGHTS OF THESE MEN COULD VANISH IF ITS
NOT REPRESENTED AND SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC."
THE GENERAL WALKER WAS CUT UP FOR SCRAP SEVERAL YEARS AGO... AND IS
NOW JUST ONE OF THE FLEETING MEMORIES OF AN UNPOPULAR WAR AND THE
HEROS WHO FOUGHT AND DIED IN IT.
BRFENT BELTRONE, VIETNAM GRAFFITI PROJECT:
"THEY ALL HAD A HOPE OF COMING BACK."
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