SCRANTON -- Four decades after the end of the Vietnam War, the scars still show in our community. Thursday is the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.
There are plenty of faces in our area tied to the Vietnam War. But maybe no face more known in the city of Scranton than its former mayor David Wenzel.
"Every day when I get up, being an amputee, it always reminds me of the Vietnam War," said Wenzel.
Lieutenant Wenzel was the oldest guy in his platoon in Vietnam at the age of 25. That's also when he lost both his legs and one of his arms.
"Took one step forward and I stepped on a landmine," Wenzel explained. "Never heard the blast, and the next thing I know I'm flat on the ground."
It would take Wenzel a year to learn how to walk, and another 15 years before he would become the mayor of Scranton. Looking back on it all, Wenzel said the anniversary of the end of the war is more than just another day for him, and for many veterans who share his sentiments.
"We got involved in war that we shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place," Wenzel added. "The more I look back at, the more I've come to that conclusion."
For some, their memory lives on, like Dunmore native Carol Ann Drazba. Drazba was the first woman killed in the Vietnam War, when her helicopter crashed in 1966. She lives on at the statue outside the Gino Merli Veterans center in Scranton, just one of the nearly 60,000 Americans killed.
James Kuchwara of North Scranton was one of the fortunate ones.
"Never forget those who lost their lives in that war," said Kuchwara. "Kids right out of high school, kids that when their number was pulled in the draft, they had to go."
Kuchwara already has his flags and markers ready for Memorial Day, a duty he has to those who can't stand beside him today.
"Every day is a Memorial Day for a veteran," said Kuchwara.