SCRANTON -- Veterans in Lackawanna County got a first peek at something they have been waiting decades to see: a Vietnam War memorial on Courthouse Square.
It is something two siblings from Scranton have been waiting for since 1968, when their brother, Private Francis Charles, was killed in Vietnam two days before his 19th birthday.
The grief never goes away, but on this day there was also joy for Madelyn Burda and her brother Patrick Charles.
They were there on Courthouse Square in Scranton Monday as officials unveiled a rendering of the Lackawanna County Vietnam War Memorial.
In September the plaque will be mounted on the courthouse wall, below it there will be an engraving with the name of Francis Charles and the 51 others from Lackawanna County who died in the Vietnam War.
"Oh it makes...the best thing I could hear of. I was dying for this to happen because these boys gave their lives up and they were never recognized," said Burda.
"I've been waiting. I never thought I would see it in my lifetime,” Charles said.
“I know if he was alive he would be here,” Burda added.
Francis Charles' brother and sister are not the only ones who have been longing for a Vietnam memorial in the heart of Scranton, where everyone can see it.
Eugene Wasczcak was wounded by shrapnel and can still feel that pain. He says having the memorial on Courthouse Square will ease some of the hurt feelings from a homecoming that wasn't what he hoped for.
"Oh, [it’s] probably about 40 some years [overdue]. Yeah, it should have been done a long time ago," Wasczcak said.
Wasczcak helped plan the memorial with other members of the Friends of the Forgotten making sure their fallen brothers will be remembered.