There is now only sawdust where an oak tree honoring a Vietnam War veteran once stood in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Liz Eckert said the tree was planted in 1970 in honor of her brother-in-law, Army Cpl. Donald Repaci. Town officials opted to remove the tree last month after it was severely damaged by a winter wind storm. However, Eckert said she was never told that the tree had been marked for removal. Instead, someone called Eckert on March 29 and told her that "something was going on with the tree."
She jumped in her car and drove to the location to find a pile of sawdust and no-one around to tell her what had happened.
“I was shocked,” Eckert told Connecting Vets. “We spent a lot of time as a family there.”
The tree was one of 12 dedicated to the memories of fallen Greenwich service members. A plaque at the site commemorating Repaci and his service was not damaged.
“They are living memorials,” she said of the trees.
The tree was something “that we could touch,” Eckert said. “I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I saw it was gone. It was the only tree that was damaged.”
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Eckert said city officials acknowledged that they should have notified veterans groups and reached out to family members before removing the tree. Greenwich officials also told Eckert that damage to any of the memorial trees would be reported to local veterans associations.
“That is okay by me,” she said. “That way it won’t happen to anyone else.”
A new tree will be planted by the city at the location in honor of Repaci on Memorial Day, Eckert said.
Repaci was 20 when he was killed while serving in Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division in 1969. For his actions, he received the Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars.
Repaci was one of 24 Greenwich residents who died while fighting in Vietnam.
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