Remember the first war in Iraq, the one that pried Kuwait free from the grasp of Saddam Hussein in January 1991?
We won in short order, you may recall. Oh, how we cheered and waved flags as the victorious troops came marching home. We called them heroes and said we'd never forget their sacrifice and service.
Then we took down the fading yellow ribbons, packed away memories of Scud missiles and got on with life in the last decade of the 20th Century.
Desert Storm had come and gone.
But not for everyone. Those who knew and loved the 148 Americans killed in combat and the 145 nonbattle deaths and the 467 who were wounded will always carry emotional shrapnel in their hearts.
Charlie Smith is director of the state Division of Veterans Affairs. He's been trying for 12 years to get a memorial built to honor the North Carolinians who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
It's not that no one cares. The government of Kuwait sent a $100,000 check in 1997 to help pay for a state monument. North Carolina provided 20 percent of the troops in Desert Storm and is the only state to receive Kuwaiti funds for a memorial.
There have been gubernatorial commissions, a design chosen and a location picked, but still no memorial.
"We really haven't had a groundswell of support from Persian Gulf vets to do this," Smith said. "Some vets are interested, and some of the families who lost people want it, but overall, there's not much activity. Persian Gulf vets just haven't gotten organized and pushed for this.
"Some people say it was such a little war. But there are no little wars, not when you're in them. It's like 'friendly fire.' There's no such thing."
If it is ever built, it will be a beautiful and fitting tribute to the men and women of Desert Storm.
There are five tall brass columns engraved with images of home, of the war and the people who served in it. The memorial celebrates both their bravery and their sacrifice and does it with sensitivity and solemnity.
You can see the proposed memorial design at www.ncgulfwarmemorial.com.
It is to be installed on the mall between the state Education and Legislative buildings.
That's if it happens at all.
First comes money. Smith says his department needs another $300,000 to build and install the memorial. He hopes to get it from the legislature this session.
Smith said the state appropriated $150,000 toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and $450,000 toward the memorial honoring veterans of World War I, World War II and Korea "so the precedent has been set."
If you're a Persian Gulf vet and want to see a distinctive memorial saluting your fallen comrades, now's the time to speak up. If your family had a loved one wounded or killed, let your legislator know you want their sacrifice remembered.
One day an effort will begin to erect another war memorial, this one honoring those fighting today in Iraq and Afghanistan. And when that happens, those who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm may be in danger of having their service and their victory forgotten by everyone but themselves.
That would be a shame.
Dennis Rogers can be reached at 829-4750 or drogers@newsobserver.com.
Labels: Desert Storm, female, Persian, veteran gulf war, women
