Friday, March 12, 1999
Vietnam memorial wall replica returns to N.Ky.
BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CRESTVIEW HILLS — Only 3 when her father was killed in the Vietnam War, Cindy Rheinheimer had few memories of the 22-year-old medic who died trying to save another.
“I remember seeing the (prisoners of war) come home and thinking, "Gee, maybe there's been a mistake,'” she said. “Maybe my dad's going to be on the plane.”
But Cpl. Richard Sanders wasn't on the plane, and Cindy's attempts to discuss her father with relatives were met with tears or uncomfortable silence.
It took a visit to the Moving Wall nearly 25 years after Cpl. Sanders' death to bring his daughter the sense of closure she had sought for so long.
The portable, half-scale replica of the permanent Washington, D.C., memorial lists the names of the 58,212 Americans killed or missing in action in the Vietnam War.
Through the Moving Wall, Cindy met other children who had lost fathers in the unpopular war. She was able to release the emotions she'd kept bottled up for years, and track down men who had
served with her father.
Because of the help that the Moving Wall brought her, Mrs. Rheinheimer, now a 34-year-old Milford mother of two, recently joined a committee that's bringing the memorial to Northern Kentucky.
“A lot of people can't make it to Washington, D.C., but the Moving Wall gives them a chance to remember their relatives or their buddies,” Mrs. Rheinheimer said.
“It's a place where you can be alone with your thoughts. We call it wall magic.”
The Moving Wall will be displayed in front of Crestview Hills Mall from June 30 to July 5. Its visit was timed to coincide with the biannual reunion of the Mobile Riverene Force Association — Army and Navy personnel who served in Vietnam.
When the Moving Wall made its last Tristate appearance six years ago in Newport, it drew more than 8,000 visitors.
“For a lot of people, it's an opportunity to pay tribute to those who died in Vietnam,” said Stan Melton, the Fort Mitchell native who began lobbying a year ago to get the Moving Wall to Northern Kentucky. The former Navy Special Forces member said local veterans groups plan to hold services at the wall.
“The people who served in Vietnam were only doing what their country asked them to, but because of that, they took a lot of flak from their fellow citizens,” said Fort Mitchell Administrator Bill Goetz, a longtime friend of Mr. Melton.
As the sponsoring agency, the city of Fort Mitchell has paid $2,750 to bring the memorial to Northern Kentucky, Mr. Goetz said. However, many volunteers are needed to assemble and take down the wall, provide security, help visitors find names and solicit contributions to cover the cost of bringing the wall here.
For Mrs. Rheinheimer, the Moving Wall led her to other children of servicemen killed in Vietnam. She now serves as the secretary of Sons and Daughters In Touch, a national group dedicated to supporting families of those who died, or remain missing.
More important, Mrs. Rheinheimer said, her visit to the wall helped her find servicemen who had known her father in Vietnam.
“After talking with people who'd served with him, he wasn't so much of a mythical figure,” she said. “For the first time, I felt like I really knew my father.”
TO HELP
Individuals or members of armed services groups who want to help organize the Moving Wall's visit can attend a meeting at 7 p.m. March 22 at the Fort Mitchell city building, or call 331-1212, ext. 202.
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