PHILADELPHIA, May 22 /PRNewswire/ — Police and firefighters who lost their lives in the Vietnam War will be honored during Memorial Day observances Monday, May 25 at noon at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Front and Spruce streets at Penn’s Landing.
Keynote speaker will be retired Army Col. Joseph T. Cox, the headmaster of the Haverford School and Vietnam Veteran. Col. Cox is a former English and composition professor of the U.S. Military Academy of West Point, NY.
“There is a proud tradition among our police and firefighters of serving our country, a tradition that continues today,” noted Terry A. Williamson, president of the Memorial Fund Board of Directors. “The recent fatalities among the Police Department only served to highlight the sacrifice of these brave men and women, who risk their lives to preserve the public safety.”
The four former police and firefighters who are among the 646 service men honored at the Memorial are: Police Officer James J. Kline, 25th District, US Army, killed in Vietnam on May 14, 1968 and posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; Police Officer Francis E. “Gene” Sievers, Jr., 22nd District, US Army, killed in Vietnam on March 16, 1969 and posthumously awarded the Silver Star; Fire Fighter Harry T. Kite Jr., Engine 29, US Army, killed in Vietnam on November 24, 1968 and posthumously awarded the Silver Star; Fire Fighter Albert C. “Algi” Wall Jr., Ladder 30, US Army, killed in Vietnam on June 19, 1969. To read their complete biographies and others honored at the Memorial, visit the web site at www.pvvm.org.
In concert with the 21st Memorial Day observance, the Fund Board has launched a web-based fund-raising effort to restore the Memorial and open the Spruce Street side of the site in an effort to halt vandalism and desecration. Only two weeks ago, vandals pasted lewd and obscene posters on the wall of names in what has been a problem since the Memorial’s dedication. For more information, visit the Memorial web site.
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