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Plymouth is ready for The Wall That Heals

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Routine traffic stop yields drug find

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; When The Wall That Heals arrives in Plymouth on Tuesday, Sept. 3, it will mark the beginning of an emotional week for many.</p><p>It will be accompanied by an overwhelming wave of patriotism, coupled with sadness and respect.</p><p>For those who lost a loved one in the Vietnam War, it will be especially difficult.</p><p>For those who knew any of the fallen heroes, it will be a time of reconnecting and honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.</p><p>For all others, it will be a time to thank those heroes and all who served in Vietnam and all wars for their service.</p><p>This will be a week of healing, too. Not that these wounds of war can ever be completely healed &#8212; but the lasting wounds and scars of war can be closed just a bit more.</p><p>The Wall That Heals does just that &#8212; it greatly aids the healing process.</p><p>There are these three guys I know who served in Vietnam &#8212; Clyde Peters and brothers Rich and Bob Pries. These are three special guys, for sure, and they are all American heroes.</p><p>And all three know the healing powers of The Wall That Heals.</p><p>I have known Clyde since childhood. He began his mission to bring The Wall That Heals to our hometown of Plymouth some nine months ago. Clyde worked very hard to raise the money to pay to bring The Wall here. Clyde knows how important it is to the families of the soldiers on The Wall, to the soldiers who returned from battle, to veterans all, and to Americans.</p><p>Clyde lost his nephew, David Lee, in Vietnam. Clyde escorted David&#8217;s body home. Once The Wall is up at Huber Field, Clyde will seek out David and pay his respects. Then he will go to the names of the other six Plymouth kids who died in Vietnam, then to the names of the Luzerne County soldiers who were killed and then, yes, Clyde will visit every name on The Wall.</p><p>As Clyde says, it&#8217;s the least he can do.</p><p>Richie Pries had this to say about The Wall.</p><p>&#8220;The Wall heals for most, but not all. Feeling close to brothers on The Wall is a healing process. Others have much anguish over it and they can&#8217;t bring themselves to see it. It would help them to cope a bit more.&#8221;</p><p>And then my friend Richie said this and it really got to me.</p><p>&#8220;If we keep touching and saying the names of all on The Wall, then they are never forgotten &#8212; they live in eternal youth.&#8221;</p><p>Let that all sink in for a minute. Maybe then you will better understand why visiting The Wall That Heals is so important.</p><p>Richie&#8217;s brother Bob, who you see in the picture attached to this column, knows what it&#8217;s like to have &#8220;the thousand yard stare.&#8221; Bob and his fellow soldiers in his unit have it in that picture.</p><p>Clyde knows what it means, too.</p><p>&#8220;We all experienced it,&#8221; Clyde said. &#8220;Any combat veteran did.&#8221;</p><p>Clyde said when he went to Vietnam, he was 18. When he returned he said he felt like an old man. He was 19.</p><p>&#8220;I felt like I aged 10 years,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The thousand yard stare, well, it&#8217;s like you&#8217;re here but you&#8217;re not &#8212; your body is here, but your mind is somewhere else.&#8221;</p><p>Clyde said he always felt it after a battle &#8212; a battle of kill or be killed in the jungle.</p><p>&#8220;It never leaves you,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There&#8217;s always something there to remind you. When I hear a helicopter, I feel like it&#8217;s coming to pick me up. You leave war, yes, but war never leaves you &#8212; ever.&#8221;</p><p>Bob &#8220;Doc&#8221; Pries, a former combat medic, grew up in Kingston and now lives in Ohio. Like many Vietnam veterans, he won&#8217;t talk in detail about his experiences, but he penned a note that outlines his time in the Army.</p><p>The attached photo came from Bob with his Bravo unit. The guys in the picture, he said, all have the thousand-yard stare &#8212; a phrase coined to describe the limp, unfocused gaze of a battle-weary soldier.</p><p>In the photograph, Pries and his fellow members of Bravo Company 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division were returning from a mission.</p><p>&#8220;At the time the picture was taken, I was a 19-year-old on my second tour,&#8221; he told me. &#8220;I had been with the 2-47 for over 18 months by this time. Fortunately, we did not lose anyone on this Op. We all knew this was the last, and we took extra precaution as no one wanted to be Bravo&#8217;s last casualty.</p><p>These days, at the end of every training cycle at Fort Banning, Ga., the U.S. Army 9th Infantry of the 2-47 presents the Robert &#8220;Doc&#8221; Pries Leadership Award to the soldier who displays the highest level of motivation and leadership shown during their nine-week training cycle.</p><p>Doc has dedicated many long hours locating fellow Vietnam veterans, bringing them to The Wall to start their healing process.</p><p>May the healing continue.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_THOUSAND-YARD-STARE-USE-THIS-ONE.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bob &#8216;Doc&#8217; Pries, right, with his unit in Vietnam returning from a battle. They all have &#8216;the thousand yard stare.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_THOUSAND-YARD-STARE-USE-THIS-ONE.jpg</photo1><caption1>Bob &#8216;Doc&#8217; Pries, right, with his unit in Vietnam returning from a battle. They all have &#8216;the thousand yard stare.&#8217; </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at boboyle@www.timesleader.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Beyond the Byline: The Wall That Heals does just that