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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 951, based here in Lake County, will bring “The Moving Wall” to Lake County for four days in June – June 11 through 15. It will be open to the public 24 hours a day during its visit, with computers available to help search for names on the wall.
The wall is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. Several of the replicas, created by Vietnam Combat Veterans Ltd., have toured the United States since 1984, according to the group's Web site, www.themovingwall.org. Two currently are making their way around the country from the spring through the fall.
John Devitt, one of the group's founder, was inspired to create the traveling memorial after attending the 1982 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the group reported. The Moving Wall is a tribute to the 2.7 million men and women who served in Vietnam.
The wall – which is approximately 252.83 feet long, 4 feet high on the ends and 6 feet high at the center – will be housed at the Lake County Fairgrounds, said Dean Gotham, VVA Chapter 951's president, who came up with the idea to bring the wall to Lake County.
The effort started in September 2006, when Gotham and another chapter member, George Dorner, began the application process.
It was just over two years later – in October 2008 – that Gotham got the call “telling us it was our turn.”
The wall's visit to Lake County will coincide with Flag Day and Armed Forces Day on June 14, Gotham said. As of the first of this year, the wall has visited 1,155 communities across the country. It was first displayed in Tyler, Texas, in October of 1984.
The moving wall has been to other areas of the North Coast before, including Ukiah in 1985, Yountville in 2006, and Napa and Santa Rosa in 2008, according to wall records.
The wall bears the names of 52,253 individuals, including eight women who served as nurses, and 1,300 men who were either prisoners of war or listed as missing in action, according to the wall's founders. The names are listed chronologically, according to date of death.
The names of eight Lake County men are included on the memorial (see sidebar, “Lake County's Vietnam casualties,” for their information).
Gotham and fellow chapter members who are working on the wall's visit to Lake County are all expecting an emotional experience.
“It's very, very personal,” said Gotham, explaining that everyone in the chapter knows someone whose name is inscribed on the memorial.
Gotham, who served in the Marines in Vietnam, said he first saw a small plastic replica of the original wall in the 1980s at Santa Rosa Junior College. He happened across it by accident while working on a nearby landscaping project.
It was an early morning with drizzling rain. Gotham saw the candles and approached it. “It knew what it was when I walked up to it,” he said, describing the goosebumps and tears that resulted.
Gotham knows two men whose names are on the wall – a high school buddy killed while serving as a Marine and another man who he knew who was killed in an artillery barrage.
Lakeport resident Dan Davi, who served four tours on active duty in the Navy as a second-class bosun mate, grew up in San Francisco.
When it comes to numbers of casualties, California took the hardest hit of all the states in the union, said Davi.
Davi, who graduated from high school in 1966, stimates between 10 and 15 percent of his high school class is listed on the wall.
“It will be a very humble occasion for me to go and get etchings of their names and settle my heart, so to speak,” he said. “It's going to be quite emotional for all of us.”
Retired Navy Capt. Herman “Woody” Hughes of Lakeport said he's seen the original Washington, DC memorial twice as well as the traveling wall in Branson, Mo.
Hughes, who retired after 26 years in the military, including just under a year in Vietnam, doesn't think of himself as emotionally demonstrative, but he said the initial impact of seeing the wall can be pretty strong.
When he first saw the memorial in Washington, DC, “It was almost as if I couldn't breathe,” he said.
That wall is located in a depression. As he and he wife were going down the walkway, he said he turned to her and said, “I don't know if I can do this or not.”
He did go on, he said, and found the name of a friend who had died in the war.
Gotham said all of the veterans are very excited to bring the memorial to Lake County, to share it with their community. Likewise, reactions so far from community members have been very positive, he said.
At the same time, some veterans are also a little scared, Gotham added, “because we know we're going to be facing some demons, quite frankly.”
He called bringing the wall to Lake County “an extreme example of an act of love.”
Said Davi, “We all get kind of teary-eyed just talking about it.”
Gotham said having the wall here will give the county “the opportunity to reveal itself.”
“It will be a major event,” added Hughes.
Lots of work ahead
VVA has kicked into high gear, with biweekly meetings to take on the enormous organizational challenges ahead.
Davi has assumed project manager duties, and is tracking everything from the opening ceremony preparations to hospitality, security, lighting, landscaping and fundraising.
“It's moving along really well,” Davi said.
When the wall arrives on June 9, the VVA and community volunteers will carry out the five-hour setup process. The wall should be set up and ready by the following day, Gotham said.
The structure itself is aluminum, with the names silk screened onto it, he said. The result is that it looks dramatically like the black granite of the original.
Fundraising duties are being handled primarily by Gotham, who has begun making the rounds of local community groups to seek funding assistance to bring the wall here. Just to bring it cost $5,000.
But the group, which first began meeting in December of 2004 and was chartered the following month, in January of 2005, is tenacious when it comes to doing community projects.
“We're still the new kids on the block,” said Gotham.
However, they've raised thousands to help veterans and other area residents in need, and have spent several years conducting the “Seniors Not Forgotten” project to bring seniors in local care facilities some cheer during the Christmas holidays.
They're seeking not just monetary donations but volunteer help from anyone who is interested.
Expecting an outpouring of emotion
For many of the young men and women who returned home after serving in the military in Vietnam, their homecoming was as emotionally harrowing as their time on the battlefield.
The United States was a country divided over its participation in the war in Southeast Asia, and when soldiers, Marines and sailors came home, what many of them encountered has left many bruised, devastated and even embittered lives.
Many of those vets will tell you how they were treated maliciously – “to say nothing of disrespectfully,” said Hughes.
He said when he came home he found a curious reaction from people about what was happening in Vietnam – lack of interest.
“For something that we had laid our lives down for, we came back to find that America had no interest in it. That was difficult,” he said.
His experience was less harrowing than some vets, who came home to find active protests targeting them. It was something they weren't prepared to face, and it's a factor that he believes influences the situations of many Vietnam veterans today.
He recounts speaking with Vietnam vets who still are in various states of trauma. One man hasn't left his home in 15 years. Another came to a Vietnam Veterans of America chapter meeting but never returned. Hughes said the man looked closed in on himself.
Such men came home not to ticker tape parades – which had greeted their fathers' returns from World War II – but protests, abuse and ignorance, he explained.
While movies have been made about “the greatest generation,” which has become the subject of deep reverence, Vietnam is consistently held up as a bad example – “the war that should never have been,” Hughes said. Movies about that war, he said, basically are antiwar films.
It's for that reason that VVA's motto is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,” said Hughes.
Vietnam veterans also have worked hard to make sure today's young veterans and members of the military are treated with more compassion and respect, Hughes said.
Turning millions of young men and women into villains caused great emotional stress, he said. Several of his veteran friends continue to regularly attend counseling today which isn't just because of the war.
“We're not asking for anything, nothing special, just don't treat us like baby killers,” said Hughes.
Added Gotham, “For everyone who served in Vietnam, there was someone here at home who disagreed.”
Davi estimates that many Vietnam veterans – as high as 15 percent – haven't dealt with the emotional fallout from their service in the war.
Even when you try to get on with your life, 40 years later you realize how it affects you, he said.
Davi said many Vietnam vets have gone through numerous marriages, suffered drug and alcohol abuse, then they channeled that energy into being workaholics. Eventually, though, the weight of their experiences hits them.
Hughes agrees with that assessment. “There are a number of Vietnam veterans who are hiding from facing the issue of their experience over there.”
Gotham, Davi and Hughes all believe many vets will visit the wall during “off” hours – especially at night and times when others aren't likely to be there. That's one of the reasons for making it available to the public at all hours of the day and night during its stay, said Gotham.
Hughes, who is chaplain for VVA and the United Veterans Council, will be on hand to help. He expects some people will have a hard time when they first see it, not just veterans but those who knew someone on the wall.
Some of the emotion that may result, said Hughes, won't necessarily be sadness and grief. Some of it may also be anger from veterans recalling their treatment on coming home.
Hughes, whose time in Vietnam included three months on riverboats running river security just below the demilitarized zone in South Vietnam, said he hopes he'll be able to help some of those who come to see the wall by offering support and a willingness to listen, to help people work through the emotions that will arise.
He's been offering help since he put his arm around a young sailor whose friend was badly hurt when a Howitzer shell landed on their bunker in Vietnam's Quang Tri province.
“He was so devastated by seeing what happened to his buddy, and afraid, and nothing's wrong with that,” said Hughes, recalling the event decades later.
Is the wall's visit an opportunity for closure?
“Closure? What the hell is that?” Gotham asked. “This is a part of our lives forever.”
A better word, and a more appropriate result, he suggests, would be “forgiveness.”
Many survivors feel guilty for making it home when their friends didn't, he said.
“The only resolution out of that is forgiveness, and that's pretty hard for guys to do,” said Gotham.
As viewpoints about Vietnam have changed, many people have started to recognize Vietnam veterans as heroes in their own right. But that's not necessarily what men like Gotham seek.
“The heroes that we look at are the guys on the wall,” he added. “They're our heroes.”
If you would like to help with donations to the wall or volunteer help or other services, call Gotham at 350-1159.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The awards were handed out at Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa in Kelseyville Sunday evening.
Awards in 24 categories were given this year. Organizers had the challenging task of taking 127 nominations and narrowing them to those final two dozen awards.
Once again this year, Congressman Mike Thompson was on hand to assist with handing out the awards.
Here are this year's winners.
– Marla Ruzicka Humanitarian Award: Faith Hornby, Lakeport
Hornby, 12, is a caring seventh grader who began her efforts to help others when she was only about 7 years old, saving her change to donate to local animal rescue efforts.
She was then introduced to a group of cancer survivors, and she began helping them as well, holding a raffle for Cancer Awareness Month, raising money to assist cancer patients, creating artwork to cheer patients up and helping Operation Tango Mike by packing care packages for troops overseas.
– Senior of the Year: Treva Ryan, Nice
She's cooked for Meals on Wheels and been one of the most devoted volunteers at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.
Treva Ryan has more energy and determination than a lot of people a third of her age. Ryan has been a volunteer at the center for 12 years. She's also a volunteer at the First Lutheran Church.
Ryan was credited with her efforts to feed the community's hungry.
– Volunteer of the Year: Bill and Carolyn Tobin, Middletown
The Tobins have worked tirelessly to relieve the hunger issue for local residents.
They have been dedicated supporters of the Catholic Charities' rural food project. In 2002, the project was helping 23 families; by this year, that number had grown nearly tenfold, to more than 200.
The Tobins are also involved in the “Spirit of the Season” Christmas food drive in Middletown.
– Student of the Year, female: Alma Martinez, Clearlake
Most teens probably can't imagine the challenges that Alma Martinez has faced in her young life. She was raised by a single mother who was injured on the job, which forced the young woman to have to take on the role of breadwinner for her family.
She has worked two jobs after school for three years to support her family, all the while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average and applying for college.
Martinez helps encourage her peers to make the right decisions and also has volunteered to assemble food baskets for those in need.
– Student of the Year, Special Recognition Award: Upper Lake High School Academic Decathlon Team
The awards committee created a special award this year to honor the team, which has won the local Academic Decathlon competition 10 out of the last 11 years and gone on to state competition. Last week, the team placed sixth at the state competition, held in Sacramento.
“The learning curve is very steep and the terrain unfamiliar,” Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck said in describing the brain-bending competition.
Team members include Kyle Coleman, Courtney Havrilla, Belarmino Garcia Jr., Sarah Barnes, Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, Stephanie Tregea, Thonyoon Chao, Hannah Johnson, Chae Carter, Ben Mullin, Megan Morgan and Brenda Mendoza. Head coach is Anna Sabalone; assistant coach is Steve Harness.
– Student of the Year, male: Anthony Tavares, Lower Lake
Anthony Tavares is pursuing a career in automotive repair, and he's getting there under his own steam. He was described as a “self-supporting” student who works long hours at a local grocery story.
A model citizen, Tavares maintains a 3.0 grade point average in addition to those long hours to support himself. He's won scholarships and is planning to pursue his education at an out-of-state technical school.
– Youth Advocate, Volunteer: Shel Bush, Clearlake
Bush was lauded for her efforts on behalf of children, all of whom she treats as if they were her own.
She fought to get the Clearlake skate park renamed for Andy Johnson and urges youngsters to choose activities like music or BMX bike riding over drugs.
One student wrote to the committee noting how that her willingness to listen and offer compassion helped him choose a better path than drinking away his troubles.
– Youth Advocate, Professional: Anna Santana, Clearlake
Raised in Lake County and a mom herself, Santana has been a tireless advocate for the community's children.
She's a soccer coach at Upper Lake High School, works with students at Pomo Elementary and also has worked to make a dental van available to care for the dental health needs of needy children.
– Agriculture Award: Lake County Community Co-Op, Clearlake
The Lake County Community Co-Op began in December 2007 when JoAnn Saccato asked the community a question: Is there a need for a local food cooperative?
The answer was a resounding yes, and since then the group has built its number to more than 300, making fresh fruits and vegetables grown locally available on a weekly basis.
The group will open its community garden this summer.
– Organization, Nonprofit: People Services Inc., Lakeport
Now in its 35th year, People Services was created by a group of parents who wanted to help local adults who have disabilities.
Since then, the group has created job opportunities for the disabled – particularly those with developmental disabilities – in order to help them enjoy the greatest independence possible.
– Organization, Volunteer: Operation Tango Mike, Kelseyville
Ginny Craven started Operation Tango Mike in March of 2003 after a local group of National Guard members were deployed overseas.
But since then the effort has grown much larger, extending to dozens of troops. The group also has grown from Craven and a handful of volunteers to people from all over Lake County, who donate money, materials and their time during packing parties.
Each month Operation Tango Mike – which stands for “Thanks much” in military lingo – send between 80 and 100 care packages to troops overseas.
“What the care packages do and what they mean is incredible,” said Jennifer Strong, who introduced the award.
Support from home is crucial to morale for troops overseas, Strong said. One soldier wrote to the group, “Because of you, I had a better day.”
– Environmental Award: Leona Butts, Clearlake Oaks
Leona Butts and her husband, D.A., moved to Lake County in 1995. Since then, she's been active in local groups such as the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association – she even put together the group's manual – as well as the local Redbud Audubon Society. An avid bird watcher, she's generously shared her knowledge of wildlife with community members.
Then, in January of 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed closing dozens of state parks, including Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh.
Schwarzenegger didn't bargain for people like Butts, who helped lead the local fight to keep the parks open. She offered both the driving force behind the push to keep the parks open as well as possessing the organizational skill to carry out a campaign that included collecting more than 5,000 signatures locally, which were sent to Schwarzenegger's office.
Today, Lake County's state parks remain open.
– New Business of the Year: Harbor Village Artists, Lucerne
The little artists colony next door to Harbor Park in Lucerne got its start last year with the help of the county's redevelopment agency.
Four little alpine-style cottages house four art-based businesses – The Gourd Gallery, Konocti Art Gallery/Studio, Lakeside Art and Pomo Fine Arts Gallery.
The shops have given a much-needed boost to the lakeside community, besides showcasing the unique talents of local artists, including the traditional Pomo basketmaking of Luwana Quitiquit.
– Small Business of the Year: Solo Flight School, Lakeport
The business, located at Lampson Field, is credited with helping to rejuvenate the local airport by attracting flying students from around the country and the world.
They've also done several “dream days” in an effort to make wishes come true for local seniors.
The school has made aviation accessible to all, as as such they've become far-reaching ambassadors for Lake County.
– Large Business of the Year: Umpqua Bank, Lakeport and Kelseyville
Umpqua Bank's local branches are heavily involved in the community. Over the last year they've donated more than $20,000 to local causes, in addition to the hundreds of hours employees donate to helping groups including Operation Tango Mike.
The bank takes a whimsical approach to community involvement, offering umbrella giveaways on rainy days and the occasional dessert surprise.
Fortune magazine recently named the company the 13th best in the country to work for, and it's been in the United State's top 100 companies to work for during the past three years.
– Best Idea of the Year: Ageless Dream Day-Orchard Park Assisted Living, Clearlake
Orchard Park Assisted Living in Clearlake began asking its residents about their long-held dreams, and the result was a series of “dream days.”
Over the past year residents have done everything from spending a day with Clearlake Police to taking a flying lesson to going skydiving.
– Local Hero: Walt Foster, Clearlake
Lifelong Lake County resident Walt Foster, who works for Sears, was delivering an appliance to a man's home in Clearlake, but the man wouldn't let him into the house. Foster convinced the man to let him in to deliver the appliance, but found the man was not in good health.
The man hadn't had a drink of water in a few days, so Foster got him some water to drink, but the man wouldn't let him call for help.
“I didn't think anyone should live like that,” Foster is reported to have said afterward.
Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain was reported to have said of Foster that if he hadn't acted the man might not have lived.
– Arts Award, Amateur: Patsy Mitchell, Kelseyville
Mitchell devotes four days a week to running the gift shop and tasting room at Tulip Hill Winery in Nice.
She also tirelessly promotes the arts and local events.
Mitchell is credited with assisting with functions at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre in Lakeport as well as other community happenings.
– Arts Award, Profession: Gail Salituri, Kelseyville
Gail Salituri is a talented artist who, over the past year, has devoted countless hours to promoting the Barbara LaForge Memorial Fund, which Salituri founded to remember her friend, who was murdered in October 2002.
Salituri is raising money for the fund, which in turn benefits Lake Family Resource Center's domestic violence shelter fundraising effort.
Since she began the fund, Salituri has raised thousands of dollars through raffles and silent auctions of art pieces including her own original oils.
She is the owner of Inspirations Gallery on S. Main Street in Lakeport.
– Spirit of Lake County Award: Dwayne Furman, Lakeport
Dwayne Furman has been serving the community in various ways for 40 years.
Every Sunday he ministers to inmates at the Lake County Jail. Furman also offers ministry to Lake County Juvenile Hall and Konocti Conservation Camp inmates.
In addition, he's run the Livestock Pavilion at the Lake County Fair and been a longtime member of the local chapter of the California Cattlemen's Association.
– Woman of the Year: Georgina Lehne, Middletown
Lehne is executive director of the Lake County Community Action Agency, where she has increased programs offered to the community from six to 19.
She oversees the Hot Spot youth center in Clearlake as well as food cupboards and New Beginnings, a drug rehabilitation program.
She's also working on fundraising and grants to build a safe house for the county's homeless children.
– Man of the Year: Willie Sapeta, Clearlake
Sapeta, a battalion chief/paramedic for Lake County Fire Protection District, has been with the agency for 28 years.
He's one of the good guys – a man who is on the scene during critical moments in the community.
Besides his duties at Lake County Fire, Sapeta also works with the Lake County Sheriff's Office Office of Emergency Services office on emergency preparedness issues.
In addition, Sapeta also is a force behind the infant and child safety seat program.
– Lifetime Achievement Award, Woman: Eva Johnson, Kelseyville
Alzheimer's disease touched Eva Johnson's life when it struck her husband.
She would go on to found local Alzheimer's respite and day care programs, which helped give many families a little space for themselves amidst the commitment to care for family members with the devastating disease.
Johnson also is credited for being a tireless advocate for caregivers.
– Lifetime Achievement Award, Man: Father Phillip Ryan
Father Phillip Ryan helped found the Lake County Passion Play, which will mark its 29th year this May.
The play, which depicts the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has a cast of hundreds of people and attracts thousands of people each year.
Ryan himself tends to the Passion Play grounds and stages, and cares for the animals that live on the grounds. He also built a costume house and a new barn.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CORRECTED AND UPDATED BASED ON NEW INFORMATION FROM THE CHP. CORRECTIONS RELATE TOTHE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SENT TO THE HOSPITAL AND THE MAKE OF ONE VEHICLE.
KELSEYVILLE – A head-on collision that occurred Saturday morning near Kelseyville resulted in major injuries, with three people being transported to the hospital.
The California Highway Patrol reported that the crash occurred just before 11 a.m. on Highway 29 just south of Live Oak Drive.
The two vehicles collided in the middle of a long, sweeping curve south of Live Oak. The vehicles involved were a Ford Crown Victoria and an Isuzu Trooper.
Both vehicles came to rest on the righthand side of the northbound lane, with the SUV on its roof and the Crown Victoria incurring major front end damage.
CHP, sheriff's deputies and fire personnel responded to the scene.
Three medic units transported three subjects to Sutter Lakeside Hospital. Major injuries were reported, but names and specifics of those involved were not available at the scene.
Traffic in both directions was backed up nearly three-quarters of a mile. CHP kept at least one lane passable while crews worked to clear debris and load vehicles for transport.
CHP reported that the roadway was clear just before noon.
Harold LaBonte contributed to this report.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Because this is a cold weather system, thunderstorms and hail are possible on Sunday, the National Weather Service predicts.
Gusty winds will continue throughout the day and daytime high temperatures will only reach the mid-40s, which have been closer to our overnight temperatures for the previous week.
This past week, Northern California has experienced above-average temperatures. That was until Friday, the same day as spring officially began.
The storm is forecast to move out of Lake County by Sunday afternoon with clear skies overnight, leading to a drop in temperature.
Many plants may be vulnerable overnight as the temperature drops below freezing and into the 20s, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Services stated that on Monday temperatures are predicted to return to normal with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s and remain that way throughout most of the week, with clear and sunny skies.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
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