{"id":239308,"date":"2026-04-20T19:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239308\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T19:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:19:09","slug":"i-wanted-to-see-the-wall-vietnam-veterans-speak-fallen-friends-names-aloud-during-powerful-moment-of-honor-flight-tallahassee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239308\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I wanted to see the wall:\u2019 Vietnam veterans speak fallen friends names aloud during powerful moment of Honor Flight Tallahassee"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – With the Fall of Saigon now more than 50 years in the past, the average age of the Vietnam Veterans on Honor Flight Tallahassee continues to go up. <\/p>\n

For the veterans on the 2026 edition of the flight to DC, they knew it was their duty to speak the names of their fallen friends aloud as they searched for them on the black granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. <\/p>\n

For Valdosta veteran Alex Vega, it was childhood friend Ernesto Perez on his mind. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s on Panel E,\u201d Vega told WCTV before the flight took off. He\u2019d done his research, ready to find his lost friend in DC. <\/p>\n

Honor Flight Tallahassee takes veterans to a half-dozen stops in Washington, D.C, but none prove more powerful than the sloping wall that emerges from the grass.<\/p>\n

Three resolute soldiers stand next to it, cast in bronze.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brings back memories,\u201d Vega said standing at the base of the statue.<\/p>\n

\"VietnamVietnam Veteran Alex Vega gazes at the black granite of the memorial wall in Washington, D.C..(WCTV)<\/p>\n

Vega served as a Navy Corpsman in the war, among the first on scene to triage the wounded in the heat of battle. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou learn that you\u2019re a little bit more resilient than you thought you could be,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The 75-year-old is visiting the wall for the first time to honor his friend and to reaffirm a former shame- his service- is today a badge of pride. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me 10 to 15 years to even admit I had served in Vietnam,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

He considers those who served in Vietnam \u201cthe red headed step [children] of veterans, so to get something like this. It\u2019s really an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howard McMillan smiled his way through the day. The Tallahassee man was reminded of the resilience of America\u2019s finest. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was rough. It was combat,\u201d he recalled. \u201cBut one thing about soldiers, you notice, it doesn\u2019t take much for us to band together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA current member of the U.S. Military shakes the hand of Vietnam Veteran Howard McMillan at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C.(WCTV)<\/p>\n

That famous three soldiers statue evoked memories from McMillan as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the toughest men I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Paul Corley is a proud member of Rickards High School first graduating class in 1966. <\/p>\n

Two of his classmates left Tallahassee for Vietnam and never made it home. <\/p>\n

\u201cTerry Brady. The other one was Jerry Ingram,\u201d he said while holding an etching of Brady\u2019s name carved in granite. <\/p>\n

\"VietnamVietnam Veteran Paul Corley looks for the names of fellow Rickards High graduates who lost their lives in Vietnam.(WCTV)<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know how to talk about it without kind of cracking up,\u201d he admitted. <\/p>\n

Even though it was a challenge, Corley was determined to share his friends\u2019 stories that day. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to see the wall more than anything,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Mark Carr was thinking of a lost friend as well that day. The Donalsonville man was on a mission for his South Georgia home, too.<\/p>\n

He was trying to collect the names of the ten hometown heroes lost in Vietnam, while also searching for a name that lives in his heart forever. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy, Larry Powell, I flew with him in Vietnam. And he got killed,\u201d he said, fighting back tears. <\/p>\n

\"DonalsonvilleDonalsonville resident Mark Carr etches the name of a hometown hero who perished in Vietnam.(WCTV)<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these names and all these people that have sacrificed for what they had,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Powell also took the time to realize what was not present at this hallowed spot in D.C.<\/p>\n

He was a Dust Off chopper pilot in Vietnam, rescuing the injured from battle. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we worked, there are a lot of Vietnam veterans whose names are not on this wall because of what we did,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

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