PORT ANGELES — Sue Tapp walked away from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall replica holding back tears.
She grasped a piece of paper with the etching of the name Smith Swords III, a man she never knew but will always remember.
Tapp came to the wall at Olympic Cellars Winery — part of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute and Peninsula Patriot Days, which is open to the public at no charge through Sunday — to find Swords’ name among 58,252 others on the 80 percent scale version of the Washington, D.C., landmark.
She purchased a POW/MIA bracelet with Swords’ name on it when she was in high school.
“I wore his name for over 10 years on my wrist,” Tapp said.
Col. Swords was an Air Force pilot from California whose plane crashed in Vietnam, Tapp said. His body was never recovered.
Tapp intends to find the bracelet and “send it to his family with this,” she said, holding up the etching.
For three more days, the wall will connect the North Olympic Peninsula to the Vietnam War.
It is the centerpiece of the Cost of Freedom Tribute at the winery, located at 255410 U.S. Highway 101 between Port Angeles and Sequim.
Included are panels and displays with wartime photographs and information, a 9/11 tribute and a Gold Dog Tag display dedicated to those who have died in the global war on terror.
Betsy Reed Schultz of Port Angeles found the name of her son, Army Capt. Joseph William Schultz, on the War on Terror display before speaking to an audience in the first of four evening programs at the winery.
Joseph Schultz, a decorated Green Beret, was killed in Afghanistan on May 29. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star.
“As a grieving mother and as a member of a grieving family, it is a challenge to find the words each day to continue to express our deepest appreciation for the value and the importance of the support from this community,” Schultz said.
Before delivering the invocation, Pastor Jonathan Simonson spoke of his nephew-in-law, who was killed in Afghanistan in October 2010.
“I found his dog tag on the wall,” Simonson said.
“I wasn’t able to make it to his funeral and to visit, but now I have. It’s amazing when it hits home.”
When the display opened earlier Thursday, the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe blessed the displays, and a Native American rifle squad performed a 21-gun salute.
“It’s been an awful lot of work done by an awful lot of people,” said Ed Bedford, who stepped up to organize the event in place of his friend, Steve Doty, who died of cancer in July.
“We’ve had a very busy day here on the property,” he said.
The Port Angeles High School Junior ROTC presented the colors for the Thursday program.
Other programs are scheduled for 6 p.m. today, 6 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday.
Clallam County Commissioner Mike Doherty discussed the county’s rich history with the different branches of the U.S. military.
“It actually started in the mid-1850s when the predecessor of the U.S. Coast Guard — the Revenue Cutter Service — patrolled the Strait of Juan de Fuca,” Doherty said.
“Most people don’t realize they were here about the same time white settlers were arriving.”
Doherty cited the once-active Army base at Camp Hayden, the Spruce Army Division that built a railroad from Joyce to Lake Pleasant in seven months, the Army Air Corps base and airport in Forks, the Air Force station in Neah Bay and the Civil War veterans who developed west Port Angeles.
Doherty said there were days when the Navy’s entire Pacific Fleet came into Port Angeles Harbor. Some of the ships had sails, while others had made the transition to steam, he said.
“Our county, after every census, we’re either first or second of the per capita veteran population of Washington state,” Doherty said.
After attending a Vietnam veterans reunion last month, Schultz said some veterans came home to taunting, finger-pointing and name-calling.
“Some of you were even spit upon,” Schultz said. “Little, if any, respect.
“It is never too late to express your appreciation and your gratitude for the service that those in the military provide for all of us to protect our freedom.”
Speaking to veterans, Schultz said: “Each one of you continues to need the support.”
“We may not have given it to you 40-some years ago, but let us do it now,” she said.
“Take the time. It’s not too late.”
Schultz and Olympic Cellars owner Kathy Charlton concluded the ceremony by placing a wreath at the Vietnam wall.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
