Local family to honor the memory of PFC. Charles Chapman

The Moving Wall, a replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., that serves as a solemn reminder of the more than 58,000 lives lost between 1956-75 in that Southeast Asian country will be in Cheboygan this weekend.

The Moving Wall will be at the Cheboygan County Fairgrounds through October 2. An opening ceremony will take place Friday at 7 p.m. and will be attended by several local veterans.

An Onaway family will take advantage of the close proximity of the monument to honor the memory of Army PFC. Charles D. Chapman. The loss of Chapman, who died from wounds October 31, 1967, still weighs heavily on his family.

?I AM SURE all of my family will be there,? said Nute Chapman, Jr., wiping away a tear as he sat in front of one of two detailed scrapbooks about his younger brother?s life. Chapman went from the classroom?s of Onaway High School to the war-torn country in a little more than a year.

Chapman, who was only 19 at the time of his death, is one of 11 men from Presque Isle County to lose their lives in the conflict. Nute Chapman, Jr., the oldest of six surviving brothers and foour sisters, who visited the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. in 1994, wondered if the Moving Wall would have the same emotional effect.

Talking about the loss of his brother 38 years ago stirred up emotions Wednesday that were as fresh as the day he learned that Charles had been lost.

He had been working at the Onaway Post Office when the heartbreaking news arrived in town with an Army Major stationed out of Sault Ste. Marie.

?He was Nute?s buddy,? said Nute?s wife, Pat. ?They went trapping and hunting together.?

Charles had marched in his first and only Fourth of July parade as a serviceman three months before.

Nute still has bitter feelings, not only of the Vietnam War, but Iraq as well.

WITH THE MOVING Wall being only 30 miles away, the Chapmans will continue to preserve his memory by paying their respects at the monument. They will not be able to attend the opening ceremony because they have grandchildren playing for the high school football team. The Chapmans were thinking about going on Saturday.

The concept of T

he Moving Wall was begun in 1983 by members of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. and, after construction was completed, was first displayed in Texas in 1984. It was funded using only public contributions, and it is owned and administered by the Vietnam Combat Veterans, LTD.

Members wanted to give all Americans the opportunity to experience the Vietnam Memorial even if traveling to Washington, D.C. was prohibitive. The replica has appeared in more than 1,000 communities across the nation.

Once the Moving Wall is assembled at the fairgrounds, it will be available to visitors 24 hours a day.

The men listed on the Vietnam memorial from Presque Isle County include: Lt. Cmdr. Donald J. Woloszyk, Sp. 4 Robert Charles Purgiel, Capt. Frederick J. Wozniak, PFC Charles Dane Chapman, Sp. 4 David Kenneth Bruning, PFC John Veil, Sp. 4 Chester Joseph Kozdron, Cpl. Dean Wilderspin, Sp. 4 Floyd Sanford McCreery, PFC. Dean Walter Borrousch, and Lt. Col. William Benedict Nolde.

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