The New Vietnam Veterans Memorial

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

I recently came across a virtual replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Heavens Sunset, and had a chance to talk to a few of the people it. To begin with, years ago there was another in Second Life, built in 2007 by a team led by Evian Argus. But four years later, it was suddenly gone.

The spot I arrived on was a parking lot, with a couple asphalt paths leading to The Wall. In front of it was the American flag and the six Armed Forces flags. There was a statue of two servicemen, a plaque in bronze dedicated to all Vietnam Veterans, a POW memorial, a memorial for American Indian veterans. 

In the grass in front of the memorial were fields of flowers, poppies. There's also a chopper, a riverboat, and several aircraft on display. On the other side of the parking lot was a small church, with a blue star flag and a gold star flag on the wall.  The wall itself was detailed, having the 58,000 names of those US soldiers whom died in Vietnam, in chronological order of their end. I found a couple flowers and a photo which had been placed in front of the names.

After finding out about this memorial, I got in touch with Suta Northman, one of the people behind it, and arranged for a meeting. I would meet up with him and two others in the sim group, Tom Breed and Jamal Nerido. Most of the interview was done in voice, Suta doing the majority of the talking, so I took down notes on real-life pen and paper.

They explained things got started about 12 years ago, the group being all veterans, and had a club on the surface. SmQQkee McCallen, or "Smokey," had been the oldest member, Suta explained, "Jamal and I the oldest now." After some time, the area grew to four sims in size, with a combat area. But after a while, the other three and the combat were closed down. Cycloppers77 Cyberstar was in charge for a time. But he passed away and in November 2019 Suta would take over the leadership of the sim group. There was also the objective of honoring not just Vietnam Veterans, but Desert Storm and the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns as well.

When they heard about Evian's memorial wall suddenly closing, they talked about bringing it back. Once it was built, there was a "promise to keep it going." The black granite wall with the names of the 58,000 dead took about four months for a builder friend to make. It's unknown how long the individual sections took apiece as they were all delivered at once. They never did find out why Evian's memorial suddenly shut down, "One day I went to look for it, and it was gone."

"Outside of DC, this is the only place to see The Wall," they explained. The possible exception is the mobile wall that goes across the country in real life, though the veterans explained it seldom is taken to anyplace but a sizeable city, and of course it's seen only on special occasions.

There had been a road around the memorial level, but it was later taken down, and the fields of poppies put in their place.

At one point, I was passed a notecard, saying that The Wall was more than a memorial, but also an example of the good Second Life can do, that people who couldn't go to the real one in Washington DC could go to this one.

Once I finished the wall a member of SL came to us and wanted to know if she could look for her uncle who was killed back in Viet Nam. we found him after looking. then she asked can she bring her Dad and her Grandmother and of course i said absolutely. come to find out that her grandmother was not in good health and could never go to the the real memorial in DC so she and her dad brought her grand mother here in sl to view her sons name on the wall. this was the best and made it worth my time in making this wall, if nothing else, to bring her grandmother to the wall to see her sons name.

Suta called his group the smallest of the veterans groups, saying they were very select and those claiming to be veterans had to show proof of their time of service, "Too many posers. ... If you see someone with this tag," he gestured towards his "Viet Nam Vets" tag, "He is a Vietnam Veteran."

Tom Breed was part of the squadron that was the last to get the National Defense Ribbon.

Suta described himself as an "Air Force brat" when growing up, the family moving to a new base, then after a few years moving once again. His father served in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, "I used to watch NBC News with Walter Cronkite ... maybe see my Dad. Also looking for my uncles." He himself enlisted in 1975, at the very tail end, "I got the same treatment as the others." Tom explained back then, veterans were treated very differently from today, saying soldiers coming back from Vietnam did so on civilian flights, and instead of welcomed had trash thrown at them and were spat upon, "Thankfully the attitude has changed."

Suta went on, "If I see a Vietnam vet on the street, I'll go up to him, 'Welcome home brother.' He'll smile, and take my hand and shake it." Jamal told a story about how he saw a Vietnam vet in a restaurant, thanked him. Later Jamal found when he went to pay for his own meal, it already was. "We are a brotherhood," Tom added, "We had the sh*t end of the stick for years."

Of future plans, Suta explained one of the group is a chaplain, and they will have a rededication ceremony once she is available, "She's a doctor and is busy." They will also have ceremonies on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. They also plan to add two smaller memorials the original SL Wall had, The Three Soldiers statue and the Vietnam Women's Memorial, "That's vital to me. ... nurses who serves, taking care of my brothers. I do want to get somehow a statue for them, the Vietnam era nurses that served, taking care of my brothers."

There are other levels in the sim. At the bottom level is the clubhouse for Legacy Vets. Membership isn't limited to US veterans, and the club has numerous patches on the wall of the various divisions they were in, a few from Canada, Mexico, and other places, "We had a ROC (South Korea) veteran, but not sure where his patch is." There are occasional dances with DJs playing music. There's also motorcycle tracks for any MC group members whom want to ride it. Suta says they've been respectful and enjoy riding in the sim, "they really enjoy it." There are three tracks, including a dirt bike track. One of the sim levels is urban, another is a park, "Gazebo with a coco stand, a nice place to come to. ... The only thing that limits us, this is a homestead." So the sim doesn't have the capacity of a full-sized one. ... We have a good time here."

Suta stated it was Tom's idea to get the Bellissera Passport system here with a stamp giver near The Wall, which "got us on the map. ... The sim is open to anyone who wants to come, to reflect, to ride on horseback ... all we ask is for people to be respectful. If you do rezz anything, please pick it back up."

"All these people gave their lives when their country asked. We all fought together as brothers and sisters. Those who complain should keep in mind these people died so they'd have the right to complain. ... Freedom isn't free. ... We are members of one of the largest fraternities in the world. And people don't realize that. At college, I was asked to join a frat, and I told them I was already part of one." He described a quote he heard somewhere that was fitting, "A Veteran is someone that at some point in their life wrote a check made payable to the American people In the amount of 'up to and including my life'."

Suta went on to say while they usually get along well with others, there are occasional issues, "We don't put up with posers, or BS." He described one instance they were with others from another veteran group, and one young man was more than a little mouthy. Suta didn't hesitate to tell him off, "We respect the other groups, but we stand on our own."

"When one dies, we lose a family member." They talked about as time has gone on, Vietnam veterans have become fewer and farther between in number, mentioning how today living veterans of the Second World War are rare, and there aren't many from the Korean War either, "Getting to be that way for Vietnam vets." He himself had taken charge of the group in 2020 only after Cycloppers died that year, calling him like a brother, "If you don't mind my saying so, he was one onery f*cker." They'd playfully insult one another, "but we'd look out after each other."

Suta explained he and several others in the group have also shared email addresses and phone numbers, "We check up on each other, we call each other, make sure we're okay." Despite not having personally met one another, he stated there was a bond of brotherhood between then, "One day we'll meet, maybe not in this lifetime. ... One day, I'll be called by High Command, and then I'll meet my brothers."

Tom and Jamal had to go after a little more than an hour. Suta and I talked for a while, at one point looking over the club. Eventually we both had to go our separate ways. He reminded me like everyone else I was free to drop in at any time at any level of the sim. And of course The Wall, "come to reflect what we stand for."

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Heavens%20Sunset/65/106/953

Bixyl Shuftan
 

The Second Life Veterans Tribute

 
By Bixyl Shuftan, 

Besides Thanksgiving, November is also known for Veterans Day in the United States. And every November, a group of volunteers set up the Veterans Tribute in honor of American vets, as well as veterans from other countries. The location varries year to year, and in 2021 it's at the Rainbow Dream sim. This year marks the fifteenth the Tribute has been around in Second Life.

Welcome to the 15th Annual SL Veteran’s Tribute for 2021.  This is the 15th annual Veteran’s Tribute that we have put together. 

The tribute will be open from November 1st through November 15th!

The Tribute itself is non-political and serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is to honor all the men and women that have given willing of their time to protect the lives we enjoy today.

The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.

The tribute operates on a zero dollar budget and is non-profit; the entire tribute is built, funded, organized and executed on a purely volunteer basis. We have an organized group on SL called the “SL Veteran’s Tribute” if you would like to look it up.  This group will be used as the basis of our planning and scheduling for the Tribute.

Getting a notecard from Wildroses Pevensey, it had the following:

We will be hosting events daily (its not to late if you are still interested in donating some of your time to entertain us) Or if you would just like to come by and see the wall or submit a name to the wall. We continue to ad names to the wall and watch it grow. It is for past present and currently serving military Veterans around the world. I would try to describe the sim but i just can't it is something you have to see for yourself!

The SURL provided takes you to a small building that offers you a notecard explaining about the tribute. There's also a sign with some quick teleports to some of the different areas, such as the main stage. There's a sign next to the building showing what events are going on that day, or what went on the last day there were events. Walking straight ahead is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 Straight ahead from there is the Memorial Wall in the center of the sim, sometimes just called "The Wall." I found a couple whom are known to history, WW1 aces Billy Bishop of Canada and Manfred von Ricthofen of Germany (the only German I saw on the memorial). Most are known only to friends and family, a mix of deceased veterans and some still alive, both retired and still serving. These are not just names on stones, but have stories behind them. The Newser reported on a few of them, Jacob Bolton/Lothi Aeon and the story of several US Marines from the same fire team who died in action or of wounds as described by a brother in arms, the one in the team who made it home.

The front section of The Wall has a number of flags overhead, with the United States and Canada in front. All the flags represent democratic republics. In the middle of the sections of wall is a fountain. It is surrounded by poppies and the flags and emblems of the six branches of the American military, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and the newest one, the Space Force.

Surrounding The Wall are smaller displays, such as the Canadian Memorial, the September 11 Memorial, and the P.O.W. Memorial. There are two stages, the main stage and a smaller stage, for events. There are also displays of tanks and other ground vehicles, and a few planes in the air. There's also a couple ships, a battleship and a destroyer, on display in the water. There is something new this year. Previously, there was just a picture of the Lincoln Memorial. Now, it's an actually three-dimensional build, Lincoln Statue and all.

Monday November 1 was the opening of the Tribute, and that afternoon and evening there was an eight hour party at the smaller stage to celebrate with four DJs playing for four two-hour sets. I dropped in while Flattop Ewing was DJing, and it seems he hadn't played in a while, one lady saying, "Soooooooo great to hear you DJ again, after (over) ten years." Flattop laughed, "Right Dena? After (over) ten years, I think I might have lost a step or two?" There was more talking and joking. Eventually they told me that earlier, Ekim Linden had dropped by in a pinata avatar, showing me a picture.

Flattop and I would talk a little after the part. Of the Memorial Wall, "A lot of those names up there, I have heard some amazing stories over the years. Some will make ya cry, and then some will make ya cry laughing. ... Met a lady two years ago here. She lost her husband in Vietnam, she lost both her sons in Desert Storm, she lost her grandson in Afghanistan." He looked back at how long the Tribute has gone on, "Fifteen years now, absolutely incredible.  I think it showed that Second Life actually NEEDED a Veterans Tribute like this. I never even dreamed it would go this long." He appreciated the attention the Newser had given the tribute over time, "I love hearing the stories, so we never forget."

The Veterans Tribute is scheduled to be up until November 15. After that, it will soon fade away for another year.

To see more pictures of the Tribute, one can check out the Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/groups/14733957@N20/

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rainbow%20Dream/128/128/21

Image credit: Samson Rowley

Bixyl Shuftan