Sons and Daughters in Touch Memorial Day 2018

Sons and Daughters in Touch Memorial Day 2018


HONORING THE FAMILIES OF AMERICA’S FALLEN HEROES ON MEMORIAL DAY

By Tony Cordero and Bonnie Carroll


SDIT at the White House

On June 4, three SDIT families will join a limited number of other Gold Star families — from WWII through the most recent conflicts to honor, thank and celebrate those who have survived the loss of a loved one in service to our nation.

This year, the Terry, Goss and Cordero families will represent Vietnam War casualties from the Army, Navy and Air Force.

This year’s delegation consists of seven Gold Star ‘sons and daughters’; three Gold Star Wives (the mothers of the ‘sons and daughters’), and one Gold Star brother.

Since 2012, nearly 70 SDIT members have had the honor of being hosted at the White House by the President of the United States.

It is hoped that this event generates an invitation for SDIT next year and beyond.


SDIT and the Vietnam War Commemoration

In the coming months, SDIT will work with the Vietnam War Commemoration to provide a weekend visit(s) to the Vietnam War exhibit recently opened in the Pentagon.

The visit will be limited to 20-30 people and does involve walking through the Pentagon to the 100-yard long exhibit.

Interested SDIT members can send their names and contact information to SDITCommemoration@gmail.com

“To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, The Department of Defense and The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration have created a permanent exhibit as a way to thank and honor the service and sacrifice of Vietnam veterans and their families. This award-winning exhibit tells the story of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War through a timeline of events, artifacts, historic photographs, and video footage.”





Preserve Your Loved One’s Legacy with the Library of Congress

The Veterans History Project (VHP) is one of the Library of Congress’ most popular projects and is considered the largest oral history project in the country. Its congressional mandate is to collect, preserve and make accessible the personal accounts of U.S. veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of their selfless service.

Anyone can gather and donate collections of items that comprise the first-person narrative of a loved one who served, such as 10 or more original photographs, letters and/or documents; and/or 20 or more pages of memories, journals and diaries. These can be from deceased (by any cause) or even living veterans.

With the passage of Public Law 114-246, the Gold Star Family Voices Act, VHP is additionally seeking the video and audio recordings (with a length of at least 30 minutes) of biographical histories by immediate family members (parent, spouse, sibling, or child over the age of 18) of members of the Armed Forces who became missing in action or who died of injuries as a result of their service during wartime service.

Contact Ms. Kerry Ward with Veterans History Project at kwar@loc.gov for further information.


“They Were Our Fathers”

More than 20,000 American children lost their dads in Vietnam.

They Were Our Fathers shares their stories, as told by members of Sons and Daughters in Touch — a group formed in 1990 to locate, unite and support Gold Star children who lost their fathers in service during the Vietnam War. They gather in the nation’s capital on Father’s Day to honor their fathers, reflect on their common grief and support one another, like no one else can.”

Use the following link to locate a channel in your area:


After his latest brush with death, the man behind the Vietnam Wall is back to tending it.

Jan C. Scruggs was on life support in a hospital in suburban Maryland, attached to a feeding tube and a breathing machine. He had been in a medically induced coma for weeks with a deadly heart infection. People were stopping to say goodbye.

His wife, Becky, was preparing for life as the widow of the creator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and had contacted a friend about burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

After one brush with death in Vietnam and three more from his heart ailment, it looked, late last year, like Scruggs might soon meet those departed comrades whose names are inscribed on his Wall.

But on a chilly Saturday morning last month, a thin, gray-haired man in a windbreaker, slacks and sneakers picked up a brush, splashed a section of the Wall with soapy water and started scrubbing. READ THE FULL ARTICLE  HERE


Veterans Day 2017

Veterans Day 2017

Veterans Day 2017 marks the 35th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

For most of those 35 years, SDIT has played an integral part in bringing to life the stories of the 58,318 names on ‘The Wall.’

Starting on November 7th, Gold Star ‘sons and daughters’ will join hundreds of others in honoring each of those American heroes by reading their names aloud. More about ‘The Reading of the Names’ can be obtained at this link: http://www.vvmf.org/reading-of-the-names

The annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will take place at 1pm on Saturday, November 11th.
http://www.vvmf.org/2017-veterans-day-rsvp

♦ + ♦

Once again, SDIT is requesting its supporters consider making a symbolic contribution of $10.00 or $35.00 (or more) to assist the organization. As an all-volunteer non-profit, all donations are used to cover the expenses of executing SDIT’s mission.

Thank you for helping SDIT commemorate this 35th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Sons and Daughters In Touch

Click Here to support Veterans Day 2017 organized by Sons & Daughters In Touch – Gold Star Children of the Vietnam War.

‘The Vietnam War’ by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick

‘The Vietnam War’ by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick

Watch Full Episodes Online of The Vietnam War | Broadcast Version on PBS

The Vietnam War – Premieres Sunday, September 17, 8/7c. #VietnamWarPBS – Check your local PBS station for air times.

Since May, SDIT members across the country have attended previews of the Ken Burns’ film ‘The Vietnam War.’ At many of those events, these Gold Star ‘sons and daughters’ were able to talk with Burns and his co-producer Lynn Novick to share their life experiences.

As often stated, SDIT members today — in their 40s, 50s, and 60s — represent what happens when the war ends – and after several decades – Gold Star children become grown adults.

Beginning September 17th, the nation and the world will be able to view the 10-part, 18-hour documentary and see the final result of the producers’ decade-long effort.

In an immersive narrative, Ken Burns and Lynn Novick tell the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never-before been told on film. THE VIETNAM WAR features testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

Watch The Vietnam War anywhere! Beginning on September 17th, the series will broadcast on your local PBS station and will be available for streaming on the web (desktop or mobile) and PBS apps for smartphones, tablets, Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Choose from English, Spanish-language, and Vietnamese-language.

 
‘They Were Our Fathers’ – a film by Gold Star daughter Jill Hubbs

‘They Were Our Fathers’ – a film by Gold Star daughter Jill Hubbs

“They were all serving our nation…answering the call to duty in the Vietnam War. Their lives were cut short. These men left behind their families and friends to grieve their loss… Their stories are powerful testimonies about the true cost of war.” – Jill Hubbs, Executive Producer, and Gold Star Daughter (pbs.org/veterans/stories-of-service)

More than 20,000 American children lost their dads in Vietnam.

They Were Our Fathers shares their stories, as told by members of Sons and Daughters in Touch—a group formed in 1990 to locate, unite and support Gold Star children who lost their fathers in service during the Vietnam War.

They gather in the nation’s capital on Father’s Day to honor their fathers, reflect on their common grief and support one another, as no one else can.

They Were Our Fathers is presented by WSRE.

Watch the full program below and share your personal story at wsre.org/fathers.

pbs.org/veterans/stories-of-service

The Children of 9/11…from CBS News

The Children of 9/11…from CBS News

NEW YORK — While the rituals remain the same, how we keep 9/11 in our hearts and heads is still a work in progress — not just because of the loved ones lost that day, but because of the more than 3,000 children they left behind.

For years, the kids had their stories told for them. Now, they are telling their own.

axelrod-911-aniversary-frame-1192.jpg

Delaney Colaio

 CBS NEWS

Delaney Colaio, who was 3 years old on 9/11, lost her dad and two uncles that day. A documentary she worked on called “We Go Higher” interviews 70 of the kids who lost parents.

“It’s a healing process for us and for other people to see that no matter what tragedy brings in your life that you can write your own story and you don’t have to let that event define you,” she said.

The story Jillian Suarez is writing is part tribute to her dad, NYPD officer Ramon Suarez. Jillian was just 9 when he was killed at ground zero helping people get to safety.

jillian-suarez-intv-1-frame-5615.jpg

Jillian Suarez

 CBS NEWS

“I missed father/daughter dances, I missed 16 years worth of Father’s Days. It is very hard,” she said.

Jillian is now 25 and soon to enter the Police Academy to follow in her father’s heroic footsteps.

“I want to be there if anybody needs me,” she said. “Just like he was. He never hesitated, and I would never hesitate to help anybody either.”

If how we remember is a process that never stops evolving, so, too, is how the children of 9/11 inspire.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/children-who-lost-parents-911-now-telling-their-own-stories/