PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Bill Sampolski sat at the bar Sunday afternoon at the VFW in Runnemede, New Jersey, surrounded by friends and fellow veterans.
“I got involved with the VFW and I try to give back,” he said, “because I made it and they didn’t.”
Sampolski has about 12 years under his belt as commander of the Runnemede VFW Post 3324. Decades ago, he served in Vietnam as a combat medic. He said Memorial Day is the toughest weekend for him.
“We think back at all the things that happened and all the things we’ve seen, and it brings back something you haven’t seen for 50-some years,” he said. “I survived. A lot of people didn’t. And that’s what I think about [on] Memorial Day.”
Howard Grant agreed.
“Life goes on, there's barbecues and pool parties and all that,” he said, “but take a moment of your life and say thank you. … There’s five words that somebody has to remember: Thank you for your service.”
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Grant was in the Marine Corps and completed two tours in Vietnam.
“[Memorial Day] hits home for me because I lost quite a few men in Vietnam,” he remembered. “A lot of people don’t understand that they take things for granted. And when a veteran, when they lose a life, they don’t get it. It’s hard.
“Be it Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, World War I, World War II or beyond, they don’t have a clue. But at least be appreciative. I just want people to understand that if it wasn’t for the men and women that served this country of ours, these people wouldn’t be where they’re at today.”
People also paid their respects to fallen soldiers at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Spruce Street. Lois and John Wister of Bridesburg stopped to reflect on each of their friends’ names etched into the wall. They are among more than 600 military personnel from Philadelphia who died in the Vietnam War.
“Over here we have a friend, Jimmy Allen. Then going up there’s another one, Edward Day,” Lois Wister pointed at the wall. “After him is our friend John Feeser, and then when we get over this way we have a friend, his name was Rickey McNichols.”
The couple said they find nothing happy about this holiday weekend.
“I don’t know if I can talk without crying,” she said. “My husband is a Vietnam vet. We have several friends that are right there up on that wall.”
“Ain’t anybody luckier than me,” said John Wister. “I’m still alive. I knew quite a few of them that died. Paid my respects to the ones I knew.”
“We come down to pay honor and respect to them,” Lois Wister added, holding back tears. “They gave it all. They gave everything. So to us, Memorial Day is remembering the fallen. The people who paid the ultimate price to keep our country free.”
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The VFW in Runnemede will honor the post with a gathering and food for the community on Monday at 12:30 p.m.
The Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commemorating its 35th year, will host a memorial service at 12:30 p.m. The nearby Philadelphia Korean War Memorial Park has a service at 11 a.m.