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Agent Orange
Memorial Balloon
Release
Memorial Balloon
Release
Rolla Community Remembers Agent Orange Victims
by Lois Ann Marler
(Published in The Kaleidoscope Weekly on Nov. 19, 2009)
by Lois Ann Marler
(Published in The Kaleidoscope Weekly on Nov. 19, 2009)
Don Ware of Rolla empties his large plastic bag of balloons at the Agent Orange Memorial Balloon Release on Veterans Day. Ware arrived on his motorcycle with ten other fellow members of the Rolla Road Riders. Ware is president of the local club, as well as a member of Patriot Guard Riders. “I’m here in honor of those who served. I have total respect for these people,” Ware stated.
Let freedom ring! Old Glory flies alongside the MIA-POW flag that St. James Flag Pole Company generously donated to the Agent Orange Memorial Balloon Release event. A hushed breeze and 60-degree temperatures blessed the event as supporters came to recognize Vietnam War veterans.
Preparing for the memorial balloon release, (left to right) supporter Chuck Widener, Air Force veteran Carter Lefon and Bob McLaughlin, who served in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War, gather together on the grassy field at Lions Club Park to share stories and remember those affected by Agent Orange.
Up, up, and away! Over 800 balloons float into the heavens at noon on Veterans Day as attendees of the Agent Orange Memorial Balloon Release are instructed to “turn ‘em loose”! As the balloons became smaller and smaller, a sense of awe floated over the quiet crowd. A crescent moon hung in the sky as a backdrop to the orange dots, a solemn reminder of the countless lives that have drifted away as a result of chemical exposure.
Registered Nurse Kerry Pruett of Rolla arrives at the balloon release with a huge bouquet of shiny orange balloons. “I’m here because I feel that Vietnam veterans don’t get enough thanks and recognition for their service. As a medical professional I also recognize that there is a very real disease process that many veterans face as a result of their service in Vietnam,” said Pruett, who had a veteran friend who dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder and medical issues.
Weather for the second annual Agent Orange Memorial Balloon Release in Rolla proved to be perfect, a huge improvement over last year’s dreary skies and nippy temperatures. Organizer Becky Gibbs, whose husband died from Agent Orange Wasting Disease in June 2008, was encouraged by all who attended the event and helped to release over 800 orange balloons into the azure skies at Lions Club Park. Several veterans, friends of veterans and members of the public watched as the balloons floated off into the distance, much like too many loved ones from the Vietnam War era have done after facing the fallout of the toxic chemicals sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam. Gibbs hopes to continue the event each year, honoring her deceased husband and raising awareness of the tragic demise of countless veterans.
“Widow of an Agent Orange Victim” reads the T-shirt of Becky Gibbs, organizer of the second annual Agent Orange Memorial Balloon Release, held at Lions Club Park in Rolla. “We are losing our Vietnam vets to this disease daily,” Gibbs stated. “And if they are not dying, they are quite sick.” The flag that Gibbs holds is the official Agent Orange flag, designed by Michigan Vietnam veterans. St. James Flag Pole Company donated the MIA-POW flag that flies in the background. Gibbs singlehandedly started a national movement in 2008 with orange balloon releases held from coast to coast.
Becky Gibbs, widow of Vietnam Veteran Bill Gibbs who passed away in 2008 from Agent Orange Wasting Disease, pauses from picture-taking to smile for a photo against a sea of orange balloons.
For more information on Agent Orange Wasting Disease, contact: Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support Network. To donate to the Annual Agent Orange Memorial Balloon Release Fund, contact Lois Ann.
Copyright © 2012 Lois Ann Marler • All rights reserved
Entertainer
Lois Ann Marler