Teaching war. Demonstrating setting up a Claymore mine for a young person. Mine says FRONT TOWARD ENEMY. The soldier placed a grenade under it after he wired it to keep it from being disabled by the enemy.
TEACHING WAR???!!! HOW DARE YOU!! I PARTICIPATED IN THAT EVENT AND WE WERE NOT "U.S. ARMY TEACHERS" AS YOU SAY, HAD YOU TALKED TO US WE WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU SO! WE WERE INVITED BY THE VETERANS GROUP THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING THE WALL TO CRYSTAL TO DO A LIVING HISTORY DISPLAY TO HONOR THE COURAGE AND SACRIFICE OF THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVED, FOUGHT, AND DIED IN VIETNAM.
WE SET UP DISPLAYS OF EQUIPMENT, VEHICLES, AND WEAPONS USED IN VIETNAM, WE ALSO WORE PERIOD UNIFORMS TO GIVE THE PUBLIC AN IDEA OF WHAT THE SOLDIERS WHO SERVED THERE WOULD'VE LOOKED LIKE IN THEIR DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES. WE ALSO GAVE DEMONSTRATIONS LIKE THE ONE PICTURED BUT IN NO WAY WERE WE "TEACHING" OR ADVOCATING WAR.
HAD YOU ASKED YOU WOULD HAVE FOUND OUT THAT THE "YOUNG PERSON" SEATED IS THE SON OF THE LIVING HISTORIAN THAT WAS DEMONSTRATING HOW A SOLDIER IN VIETNAM WOULD HAVE SET UP A CLAYMORE MINE FOR PERIMETER DEFENSE.
EXCEPT FOR THIS VERY SLANTED AND BIASED WEB-SITE WE RECEIVED NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS. THE VETERANS AND FAMILIES OF THE FALLEN NAMED ON THE WALL HAD NOTHING BUT PRAISE AND THANKED US FOR WHAT WE WERE DOING.
