On the recordSeptember 13, 2011
I rise to express my congratulations and best wishes to the people of South Boston, MA, as they honor their community's long tradition of service to country on the 30th anniversary of the South Boston Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Thirty years ago, on September 13, 1981, the people of South Boston, led by their own citizens who had served in the Vietnam war, became one of the first communities in the United States to build and dedicate a permanent memorial in honor of those who had given their lives in Vietnam. I was privileged to be a speaker at the original dedication of the memorial, and I am honored to be returning to South Boston this year in order to once again pay tribute to those who served. It is difficult for many of the generation that followed us to understand how bitterly our country had been divided by that war and how long it took to overcome if not resolve the divisions, often along class lines, that were left in its wake. I do not seek to reopen those wounds today, but it should not be forgotten that 25 young men from this solidly working-class community gave their lives in Vietnam, while Harvard College, located nearby on the far banks of the River Charles, lost a total of 12 out of the 11 classes from 1962 to 1972. In building this memorial, the people of South Boston took it upon themselves to honor their own, and in so doing they reignited the spirit of service to country, not only here in Boston but elsewhere across our country.…
