HONORED ON PANEL 32W, LINE 31 OF THE WALL
DAVID LEROY BELL
WALL NAME
DAVID L BELL
PANEL / LINE
32W/31
DATE OF BIRTH
CASUALTY PROVINCE
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
RANK
REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR DAVID LEROY BELL
POSTED ON 10.27.2004
POSTED BY: Robert Sage
We Remember
David is buried at Long Island Nat Cem.
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POSTED ON 3.30.2003
POSTED BY: CLAY MARSTON
VIETNAM WALL EXHIBIT EVOKES PATRIOTISM, TEARS IN NEVADA
HENDERSON, Nevada (AP) -- CATHY NAVIN arrived Saturday morning with her pictures and prayers.
Walking along a mini-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, she stopped at Panel 32W.
Running her fingers down the names, she pauses at Line 31.
"That's my David," the 51-year-old Las Vegas resident said, as tears welled in her eyes.
Her fiancee, DAVID LEROY BELL, was a 20-year-old when he was killed by a land mine on 14 February 1969, in South Vietnam.
They were supposed to be married that May when Bell returned on leave.
As she clutched a picture of them taken their last day together - him smiling and squinting in the Hawaiian sun and her looking radiant by his side - she reflected on the current war and said she prays for the loved ones of those serving in Iraq.
"I don't just cry for David, but for all the 58229 on this wall and the ones that are being killed right now," she said.
The daughter of a World War II veteran, she said she wishes U.S. officials had found a diplomatic solution and avoided war, but she unequivocally supports the troops.
"David represents the youth, the innocence, the tragedy of war," she said. "I will support (the troops), but I wished it had turned out differently."
Many of those who came to the travelling exhibit, titled "The Wall That Heals", carried flowers, pictures and ID bracelets from the war. Many also brought stories of friends and family members lost forever.
"It's hard," said MAUREEN WOOTEN, a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident who lost her 19-year-old brother JOSEPH M. BROWN in the war.
Her voice breaks and she puts her arm around her 84-year-old mother's shoulders for support.
"It's for a good cause," she said. "That's where we get our freedom."
Signs of patriotism were everywhere at the exhibit at Henderson Promenade.
American flags flew gently in the desert breeze as buttons, hats and T-shirts carried messages such as "UNITED WE STAND" and "NEVER FORGET OUR HEROES."
JERRY PARADISE, a 55-year-old Vietnam veteran and his wife, MARGARET, searched the wall for high school and military buddies.
"Every time the wall comes, I come here to pay my respects," he said.
The couple, who have a daughter stationed in South Korea, said they are disheartened by TV reports about anti-war protests.
"I served in the military. We were protecting their right to protest," JERRY PARADISE said. "Yes, protest against the war, but don't protest against the troops."
CATHY NAVIN, who remained at the wall for more than three hours, said her prayers and passed out copies of a poem she wrote a few years ago.
DAVID LEROY BELL is never far from her thoughts.
"He's an angel. I don't go anywhere that he's not with me," she said. "We may not have lived together 50 years, but he's with me."
by CHRISTINA ALMEIDA - The Las Vegas Sun -
29 March 2003 - ASSOCIATED PRESS -
Transcribed by WWW.HISTORICALMILITARIA.COM
Walking along a mini-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, she stopped at Panel 32W.
Running her fingers down the names, she pauses at Line 31.
"That's my David," the 51-year-old Las Vegas resident said, as tears welled in her eyes.
Her fiancee, DAVID LEROY BELL, was a 20-year-old when he was killed by a land mine on 14 February 1969, in South Vietnam.
They were supposed to be married that May when Bell returned on leave.
As she clutched a picture of them taken their last day together - him smiling and squinting in the Hawaiian sun and her looking radiant by his side - she reflected on the current war and said she prays for the loved ones of those serving in Iraq.
"I don't just cry for David, but for all the 58229 on this wall and the ones that are being killed right now," she said.
The daughter of a World War II veteran, she said she wishes U.S. officials had found a diplomatic solution and avoided war, but she unequivocally supports the troops.
"David represents the youth, the innocence, the tragedy of war," she said. "I will support (the troops), but I wished it had turned out differently."
Many of those who came to the travelling exhibit, titled "The Wall That Heals", carried flowers, pictures and ID bracelets from the war. Many also brought stories of friends and family members lost forever.
"It's hard," said MAUREEN WOOTEN, a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident who lost her 19-year-old brother JOSEPH M. BROWN in the war.
Her voice breaks and she puts her arm around her 84-year-old mother's shoulders for support.
"It's for a good cause," she said. "That's where we get our freedom."
Signs of patriotism were everywhere at the exhibit at Henderson Promenade.
American flags flew gently in the desert breeze as buttons, hats and T-shirts carried messages such as "UNITED WE STAND" and "NEVER FORGET OUR HEROES."
JERRY PARADISE, a 55-year-old Vietnam veteran and his wife, MARGARET, searched the wall for high school and military buddies.
"Every time the wall comes, I come here to pay my respects," he said.
The couple, who have a daughter stationed in South Korea, said they are disheartened by TV reports about anti-war protests.
"I served in the military. We were protecting their right to protest," JERRY PARADISE said. "Yes, protest against the war, but don't protest against the troops."
CATHY NAVIN, who remained at the wall for more than three hours, said her prayers and passed out copies of a poem she wrote a few years ago.
DAVID LEROY BELL is never far from her thoughts.
"He's an angel. I don't go anywhere that he's not with me," she said. "We may not have lived together 50 years, but he's with me."
by CHRISTINA ALMEIDA - The Las Vegas Sun -
29 March 2003 - ASSOCIATED PRESS -
Transcribed by WWW.HISTORICALMILITARIA.COM
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