To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing is hosting a five-day tribute to recognize those who served in the armed conflict.
“We want to honor the Vietnam War-era veterans who weren’t thanked when they came home,” said Ray Williams, chairman of the commemoration and a parishioner of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Absecon. He served during the war in the U.S. Naval Reserves, from 1968-1971.
Taking place Sept. 16-20, the commemoration will begin with the arrival of an 82-foot Tribute Wall with the names of the 58,000-plus killed or missing in the 20-year conflict. It will conclude with a Mass supported by the Knights of Columbus and celebrated by Father John March, pastor of Saint Vincent de Paul Parish, Mays Landing. Father March spent six years in the Marine Corps after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2001.
The Vietnam War took place from 1955-1975, with the United States supporting South Vietnam forces against North Vietnam and its allies. Many stateside protested the war, objecting on moral and political grounds, and were unwelcoming to returning Vietnam veterans.
The five-day tribute is “a thank you to veterans and to the college for helping veterans like me succeed,” said Williams, past Grand Knight of the Villa Marie Council #6342 out of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.
After his military service, he attended Atlantic Cape Community College and began the campus’ first student organization for Vietnam veterans.
“The college gave me the academic tools to succeed,” Williams said, explaining that he received an associate’s degree in business.
He went on to earn a bachelor’s in finance from Stockton College (now University), where he also organized an organization for Vietnam veterans. Between both schools, 10,000 veterans were helped. “I’m proud of serving all those individuals,” he said.
He went on to earn an MBA from Monmouth University, and spent his career in guiding bank executives in their work. He is now retired.
In addition to the tribute wall and Mass, the commemoration will include a wreath-laying, ceremony and tribute pins given to veterans and their families on Sept. 17; a viewing of the award-winning Vietnam War documentary “A Place of Honor” on Sept. 18; and a tribute to prisoners of war and those missing in action Sept. 19.
Leon Sarao, Knights of Columbus Color Corps commander for the Dr. Rev. John T. Sheehan Assembly #662, Somers Point, said his fraternal organization’s support of the celebration ties into their Fourth Degree, the Patriotic Degree, and its call for patriotism and Catholic citizenship.
Joe Griffies is among the tribute’s organizers. In 1967, at age 19, he returned from war with post-traumatic stress disorder after a year serving in an armed personnel unit in South Vietnam.
“The teachers didn’t want us in their classes, and the students didn’t want us on their campus,” Griffies recalled of his time taking night classes at a Philadelphia-area institution. “We were shunned, disrespected, beat up, spit on and called baby killers.”
Griffies eventually left school before graduation; he spent the next half-century as a butcher before retiring recently to Rio Grande. He is pleased that Atlantic Cape Community College is recognizing Vietnam-era veterans.
“A veteran never dies until he is forgotten,” he said. “The celebration will let veterans and their families know that those who served are in our hearts, souls and minds.”
The commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War will take place Sept. 16-20 at Atlantic Cape Community College, 5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing. The Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m. Sept. 20 in the campus’ Walter Edge Theater. For more information on each day’s activities, visit atlanticcape.edu/about/foundation/vietnam.php, or contact Ray Williams at rayrutgers48@gmail.com or at 609-569-6868.
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