Youth Salute a Soldier, Learn Vietnam War History at Holmdel Memorial

Fifteen children from Paterson's Police Athletic League visited the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Saturday for the "Salute a Soldier" program where they learned about the war's history from an Army veteran guide.

1st Lt. Platoon Leader John Nugent, who served in the 199th Infantry Brigade in 1967, gave the youth a tour of the memorial. A 200-foot diameter open-air ring of 365 polished black granite slabs each represents one day of the year, and each slab is inscribed with the names of soldiers from New Jersey who died on that day, with a total of 1562 names. Lt. Nugent instructed the visitors to spread out and find the stones representing their birthdays, and reflect on how young the soldiers were when they were killed in action.

The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial is open all year, and tours guided by veterans are available for groups if you book in advance. The educational center has film footage about the war and artifacts and letters from the period that give visitors a firsthand look at this troubling chapter of American history.