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“Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow expressed many years ago what the
Currahee’s, the men of the 101st Airborne 3-506 Infantry, do today.
To remember their friends, in many instances their buddy who died in
their arms, Memorial Day flowers are placed on the gravesites of
those in the 3-506 who were killed in Vietnam 1967 to 1971. Along
with the flowers is a card with a name and phone number in the hope
that a KIA family member will make contact with someone from the
3-506.
The story of how this Flowers-to-Grave Program started began during
the Tet Offensive on February 19, 1968 near Phan Thiet, Vietnam.
Many men were killed or severely wounded that day, among them, Don
Marshall who died trying to save my husband,
John Colone. For John, as for most
soldiers in Vietnam, there was no closure…no chance to say good-bye,
no chance to grieve for their friend, no chance to tell their
parents or siblings how much that KIA meant to them. In John’s case,
no chance to relay Don’s final words, “Tell Mom I love her.”
The story picks up again in January 1998 when John and I were in
Hawaii. He decided to locate Don Marshall’s gravesite. Don was from
Honolulu. Through the local Honolulu paper Don’s obituary was found
on microfiche. We made a trip to the National Memorial Cemetery of
the Pacific, the Punchbowl, and almost 30 years later John saw Don’s
final resting place.
The next month on February 19, 1998 John had flowers placed on Don’s
grave hoping that a family member would see the card. But there was
no call.
As he thought about having flowers sent in 1999, John decided that
he wanted flowers sent to all of his platoon members who were killed
in action during that battle. We started to search for those
gravesites. John mentioned what he wanted to do at one of the
Currahee reunions and people stepped forward to help with the
search. Some also gave us the cemetery and plot number of their
buddy who was killed during the time the Currahee’s were in Vietnam
from 1967 to 1971. We also received donations for those flowers. The
concept and the parameters had grown.
From flowers on one grave in February 1998 to flowers placed on 158
graves on Memorial Day 2005, the men of the 3-506 are saying, “You
will never stand alone. You will always be loved and remembered. You
will never be forgotten.” When a Currahee and his wife personally
delivered flowers to gravesites he emailed, “We want you to know
that we delivered the flowers with respect and honor. Thanks for
letting us help. It was the best Memorial Day I can remember. I plan
on doing the same next year.”
That’s what it means for these men. What does it mean for families
when they suddenly discover flowers on their son’s, their husband’s,
their brother’s grave after 30 plus years? This was from a Mom, “It
is difficult to adequately thank you all for the lovely flowers you
sent to Johnny’s grave on Memorial Day. For 33 years I have planted
geraniums – this is the first time any other flowers have arrived.”
From a sister we hear, “It was 30 years of silence and now there is
this great ‘family’ out there – The Currahee’s - what great people
you are.”
From a wife, “I always take my flowers out early and then go on
Monday and look at all the flags and remembrances. This year I was
so surprised and happy to find the flowers on Danny’s grave. How
proud he would have been to think that all of you wish to remember
all of them. Danny was a very happy go lucky guy, always a smile on
his face. He wanted to go to Vietnam because he didn’t want his
family to live in the fear and surroundings that the people in
Vietnam had to live in. He wrote home about watching his best friend
Richard Gonzales being killed May 8, 1968. Richard’s family had
requested that Danny escort his body home, but Danny was transferred
and it was taking awhile to locate him. His last letter home ended
with, ‘this is my first time out with this unit’. It always really
bothered me that the people that were with him didn’t even know him,
but I do feel comfort in knowing, now, that ALL of you had a bond.
Thank you so very much.”
A sister-in-law called to say how the flowers on her
brother-in-law’s grave were such a blessing. All of the brothers
were together for Memorial Day and it was the first time that they
talked about what their brother’s death meant to each of them.
Two sisters sent emails. One said, “I can’t tell you enough how much
it meant to me to find the flowers, to think that Dick is still
remembered by his fellow comrades is beyond belief. It has been 33
years and the memories of his loss are still painful to us, his
family.” The other sister thanked the Currahee’s too, “I cannot tell
you how touched I was in hearing about the note and the flowers on
his grave! My brother was so brave and he did his job with all his
heart. I am proud of him and miss him, miss the chance to know him
as an adult.” The flowers opened up old feelings but it also allowed
the siblings to talk about their brother with their own children.
“You may hear more from our family, it feels good to get our
feelings out into the open and finally have some discussion with the
younger generation. It simply amazes me that the effects of a simple
floral arrangement can ripple so wide. Thank you again.”
In “Shrapnel in the Heart” Laura Palmer wrote, “Wars don’t end.
Every bullet in Vietnam left an exit wound as it soared back into
unsuspecting hearts. Lives stopped, dreams collapsed, futures
imploded.” But she also observed that if there were parades for
people who survived their lives, the marching would never stop.
Seeing Don Marshall’s grave, sending flowers and finally connecting
with Don’s Mom has been a way for John to deal with February 19,
1968. John has said, “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t
think of Don Marshall, my platoon and February 19.” What started at
one gravesite has spread to 158 gravesites through generous
donations and adoption of graves by the 3-506. We will continue to
supplement the Flower Fund bill as long as we can. Our hope would be
that every grave is eventually adopted. Our dream would be that
other organizations would imitate what the 101st Airborne 3-506
Infantry is doing and someday every Vietnam KIA would have flowers
at their gravesite on Memorial Day.
FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT THE FLOWERS-TO-GRAVE PROGRAM
Prior to Formal Organization
Number of graves as of October
2005: 158
Number of adopted gravesites:
56
Cost of Flowers for Memorial Day
2005: $6611.76
Donations towards Memorial Day
2005 flowers: $2600.00
Difference paid by John and Anne
Colone: $4011.76
After the decision to form a
Formal Organization at the D.C. reunion.
Donations and auction income for
Flower Fund resulted in a total of $7793.60 from May of 2005 to
Memorial Day 2006.
Cost to send 136 arrangements
across the U.S., Guam, Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico to KIA
gravesites not personally taken care of by a Currahee:
$6753.90
Balance in Flower Fund going into
2007: $1039.70
2007
Donations and auction income from
May 2006 to Memorial Day 2007: $8561.20
Cost of Memorial Day 2007 floral
arrangements: $7730.58
Balance in Flower Fund after
Memorial Day 2007: $1807.62
Donations and auction income from
Omaha reunion: $5571.25
Flower Fund balance going into
2008: $7378.87
2008
Cost of Memorial Day 2008 floral
arrangements: $7,881.63
Balance in Flower Fund after
Memorial Day 2008: $4,217.39
We are doing well in remembering our
Fallen Brothers but do not let the above figures fool you.
With the rising cost of fuel and flowers we need to continue our
fund raising efforts. Our long term goal is to establish an
endowment with enough funds to continue this Memorial Day Flower
program long after we have gone to join them. For up to date
financial information see the Treasurers report posted monthly on
our message board.
For more information, make a donation or to adopt a grave click
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