The Wall That Heals - Garner NC

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The Wall That Heals - Garner NC

The Wall That Heals is a 3/4-scale replica the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Wall was at Garner's Lake Benson Park on March 31 through April 3 2021.

04/11/2025

The Wake County Southeast Library has a terrific display about PTSD before the May 2 premiere of "PTSD: The Invisible Enemy" at the Garner Performing Arts Center. Rebecca Palgi did a great job pulling it together. Incidentally, the U.S. Flag was flown over the U.S. Capitol Building and over the 9-11 Memorial in honor of area veterans who participated in the Global War On Terror. Another display is scheduled to be erected at the Garner History Museum on April 23. Each display features several area veterans.

09/20/2024

Today is POW/MIA Rembrance Day. 1,549 U.S. men still are unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. Among them there are 37 men from North Carolina, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
One of them is Joseph N. Hargrove of Mount Olive.
He was among the last casualties of the war, fighting in the last official U.S. Military action..

Two weeks after the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam, Cambodia seized an American merchant ship, the S.S. MAYAGUEZ.

U.S. intelligence said the crew was taken to the island of Koh Tang.

Lance Corporal HARGROVE was part of a rescue mission. He was on the perimeter with orders to remain in place until called back. The rescue force may have left Hargrove and two other Marines during the fire fight.
The Mayaguez sailors already had been released.

Hargrove's last love letter to Gail, his wife, which she received a few days after he disappeared, was postmarked on 15 May 1975.

It included the following poem, according to CBS News..

I'd walk 1,000 miles. I'd swim across the ocean. I'd work all day and all night, too. These are just a few of the things I'd do just for you. I'll make you as happy as anybody could be. I'll make you a queen because a queen you are to me. I'll do anything you ask. I would steal. I would lie. I'd be blue. I'd do anything you ask, darling. I would even die ... just for you. Your loving husband, Joseph.

09/19/2024

I am thinking about Garner's Earnest Allen today because September 20 is national MIA/POW Remembrance Day.
Allen was the son of a sharecropper who worked a farm on Old Stage Road. He and his brothers and sisters attended the Rosenwald School School across from Juniper Level Baptist Church on Sauls Road. That's also where they attended church.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was recalled into service for the Korean War.
Allen was among the first Black medics in an integrated unit and I often have wondered what that would have been like. I read in "Devotion," a book about pilots in Korea, how a black pilot faced severe discrimination in the 1950s.
Allen, and his medical unit, were replacing a U.S. Marine force on the East side of the Chosin Reservoir on November 27,1950 when Allen unexpected saw and spoke to his brother, a U.S. Marine, who was withdrawing and moving to the West side.
Late that night, as the medical unit was moving to the front, it was ambushed by Chinese forces.
The medical unit, primarily doctors, nurses and other medical personnel, essentially was annihilated by Chinese machine guns. Allen was taken prisoner and marched several days in sub-zero weather to a cabin that had no door and nothing to cover the windows.
He was wearing his summer uniform. The temperatures dropped to minus-54. It was so cold that wounded men's blood froze.
The P.O.W. building was on a mountain top. Security was lax, but the prisoners had nowhere to go if they walked away.
Allen died on April 31, 1951. His cause of death was starvation.
He is buried at Juniper Level Baptist Church.

09/11/2024

The Wreath Laying and Gold Star Tree Ceremony at the Garner Veterans Memorial will be a part of the Wreaths across America this December. This year Wreaths across America will help place more than 2 million wreaths at local, national, and military cemeteries, and at memorials and monuments. The Garner Veterans Memorial will be one of more than 4,225 sites to participate in the program. The wreath-laying and gold star tree event at Lake Benson Park is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14 at 10:30 a.m.

09/03/2024

At least 30,000 veterans of the Global War on Terror have tragically taken their own lives. When you ask a GWOT veteran if they know a fellow service member who has committed su***de, the answer is almost always yes. One sergeant shared that, in just the past two months, he lost four comrades to su***de. He stopped counting when the number exceeded 20, years ago.

This heartbreaking reality underscores the urgency of addressing mental health and support for our veterans. My upcoming documentary will explore this critical issue in depth. We must shine a light on this crisis and work together to find solutions.

07/28/2024

"Invisible Warriors," a play about Global War on Terror veterans, is getting better every day. I desperately need to interview women who deployed. Anybody know anybody?

07/15/2024

Many Global War on Veterans are speaking out about their difficulty in transitioning from military service to civilian life. "Invisible Warriors," a documentary that I am creating with Crazy Duck Productions, examines why more than 30,000 GWOT veterans have taken their own lives.
Jeremy Johnson allowed me to share his story in the hope that it will help some other veteran and perhaps save a life.
If you are a GWOT veteran, I would like to speak to you. 919-812-5711.

Former U.S. Army Reserve Jeremy Johnson
“So coming back to civilian life, I waited quite a long time to the tune of about almost twelve years. Most veterans don't ask for help. … We’re not really built to ask for help. You kind of got to hit your own personal rock bottom. And that's what I did. And I just decided, if I wanted to keep my family, if I wanted to keep a job, and if I wanted to, be a productive member of society, then I needed to seek some help and that's what I did.
“My rock bottom was the bottom of a bottle. A lot of people didn't know that I was an alcoholic. They did not know I could function very well. I was a very successful worker. I went to my job every day, never missed a day of work. But alcohol was my demon....
“And I just put off (getting help) through the years just basically lying to myself and lying to (the counselor). And it wasn't till about 2016 when I hit my rock bottom. And that was like I said in the bottom of a bottle, and I decided that it was time to get help, and I reached out to (the counselor).”

07/09/2024

Please visit showntellministries.com, my new web site. Designer Darrell Ludlow has captured what the goals of Show N Tell Ministries.
The web site still is a work in progress, just as the ministry is.
At this moment, Show N Tell is creating two documentaries that will enhance the community.
I am creating another play (or two) about our community's history.
And I am trying to find a way to honor our military and make our Global War on Terror veterans will welcome and appreciated.
Give the website a look when you get the chance, please.

07/03/2024

I am learning a lot about the veterans who have returned from the Global War on Terror. Can we share your story in our documentary, Invisible Warriors? Let we know.

USMC Captain Trey Grissom (retired)
(On leaving the military): “For me, it was almost like moving from one job to the next, only because I did have love around me. I had folks that supported me, not only still in uniform, but my family. A lot of guys don't always have that. They may be going back to just them or maybe them and a spouse or a fiancé and starting over again. It can be tough sometimes for those that feel like they've lost their purpose.
“(Post traumatic stress is) not always combat-related. It could be personal relationships in their family. It could be they're in a new city by themselves; they're with a new unit by themselves. Maybe they're having a hard time fitting in. A little socially awkward…. Then it's just a snowball effect.. If they want help, they'll find it. If they don't and they go into isolation mode or go internal, as we'd say, or cocooning, you can't always help those guys. It's tough.”

06/24/2024

Chuck Fishbein and I have begun interviewing veterans about their experiences in transitioning from the military. "Invisible Warriors" is about some Global War on Terrorism struggling with Post Trauma Stress. Here is a peak about what we are hearing:
U.S. Army E5 Sergeant Matthew Depone (retired)
“It's less, what do they call it, less stigma, less taboo or whatever, to be seeing therapists now. I even married one, and even when I was dating her, I never thought the guys in the military should go through therapy. She's a therapist, and I'm saying, ‘Oh, yeah, I don't need therapy.’ It doesn't really make a lot of sense, but that's just because I didn't want it. I was afraid of, like I said, the stigma of going to see therapists while you're in, even if it's going to help you.
“I've lost a couple of guys due to su***de, and I wish we could have, I would have, known that they were actually struggling, but sometimes you just don't see it. And that's been the hardest thing. Some days they just have a bad day and let the demons get in. And the day before, they could have been the happiest person in the world. And it's hard to come to grips with and try to see what that is. But so anybody that struggles, I'm like, Dude, you do therapy. Go see therapy. The VA does it for free. You don't even have to pay. And they do it virtually now? Come on. There's no reason for you to not to get therapy.”

05/29/2024

We are interviewing Global War on Terror veterans on Saturday, June 1 in Garner for a new documentary. We'd love to hear from you, because your story is unique. To set up an appointment, call 919-812-5711

05/27/2024

Edward Tatum of Elizabethtown was a Sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He spoke at the Town of Garner's Memorial Day Remembrance at Lake Benson Park. The event was moved to the picnic shelter because of lightning and heavy rains. Tatum spoke a little about Sentinel duty.
The close inspection the arriving Sentinel undergoes as he begins his shift is not for show.
"Everything has to be perfect," Tatum said. "You are inspecting his appearance, his uniform, his rifle. Is everything worn perfectly? Are there any smudges on his weapon? I've had to send some guards back to quarters to make adjustments."
The Sentinels are known for maintaining a stoic appearance. "But that isn't so hard because in your heart you know why you are there and why you are doing what your are doing."

Address

Lake Benson Park
Garner, NC
27529

Website

https://www.thewallthathealsgarnernc.org/

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