WHO-TV, IA
11-13-07
Five Vets' Names Added To ISU Memorial Wall
November 13, 2007, The Gold Star Hall at Iowa State University lists the names
of 550 fallen soldiers. Monday the names of an additional five men were added.
On the day the nation honors its war veterans, Monday was especially important
for five separate but similar men. Each grew up in small Iowa towns, each went
on to serve his country during a time of war, and each have at one time walked
down the hall that now bears their own names.
"The big push for the memorial began after World War I. Students became
passionate about honoring their friends that did not return," said Kathy Svec of
Iowa State. In the years since, more conflicts have meant the addition of more
names.
This Veterans Day, family and friends gathered at their loved ones' university as
five more names were added to Iowa State's Gold Star Wall. The honorees
include a colonel killed just this past year in combat operation in Iraq. The other
four died years ago while serving in Vietnam.
Greg Steele is a former ISU student who, as a student, often passed through the
memorial hallway. Now, he's honoring a fellow member of his platoon by adding
to the wall. "We were tight, we were very, very tight. We had a tight platoon,"
Steele said. "Actually Rick and I were only sixteen days apart in age; we were
22."
Rick Swaney died in Vietnam in 1969 three months after arriving on the
battlefield. Today classmates, family members and those like Greg who served at
his side remember his service all these years later.
"One of the most unique things about Rick, he had a camera. He took an
immense amount of pictures. We took the opportunity yesterday to look at those
pictures," Steele said.
Now, Rick's name will be among those remembered on a list seen by a million
each year, and a list the university knows will unfortunately continue to grow. "We
already know we have names for next year. We identified another Vietnam
casualty. Our job is not done yet," Svec said.
After Vietnam, this ceremony was put on hold. Then in 2003, because of the
conflict in Iraq, the university once again began adding names. Three now are
veterans killed in Iraq, the other names are of those killed in previous wars
including World War II and Vietnam.