MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — The Elks Lodge said it was time to honor those killed in action from Vietnam and Iraq. John Matthews from Elks Lodge 2276 says he noticed something was missing at a Memorial Service in town. “There was nothing for the guys who went to Vietnam and did not come home," Matthews said.
So, The Elks Lodge went to work, securing grants for veterans that help non-profits, and the project was underway.
Matthews explains why they decided to do this project now. “The Elks have a motto that says no veteran will be forgotten, living or dead," he said.
I asked Mathews about the words inscribed at the top of the Memorial. The words, “When duty called, we came; when country called, we died.”
“A few years ago, I happened to be at Gettysburg, and it is such a moving place, and on one of the memorials to the fallen soldiers there was this written,” Matthews said. “And while we were doing it, we said let’s not wait 50 years to put somebody in there from Iraq.”
The following names were added to the memorial:
- From Vietnam — Kenneth Eugene Turner. Robert Gene Yagues. Samual C. Phillips III. James William Griffin. Terence Pierce Thomas. Jim Carl McNamar. Lonnie Ray Mitchell. Michael Lee McMaster.
- From Iraq — Richard P. Carl, Virgil R. Rose and Ross A. Clevenger.
