Vietnam: In Their Own Words

November 11, 2019
Vietnam: In Their Own Words
Story Telling at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial

November 11, 2019

Emcee – Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, PhD – Eastern National Advisory VWM Board Member

Time
 List of Presenters
9:30 a.m.

Captain Kimberly Kopack, U.S. Army
U.S. Army Air Defense Officer currently serving as an instructor for Officership at the United States Military Academy. She was among the first volunteers of females to be selected as a Cultural Support Specialist, where she deployed to Afghanistan in support of Special Forces.
10:00 a.m.

Susan Philpott, National Park Service
Park Guide with the National Mall and Memorial Parks for 10 years. Since 2016, her primary location is the Belmont Paul Women’s Equality National Monument. Here we tell the story of the fight for the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in which women won the vote, as well as the ongoing struggle for women’s equality. The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment is in August 2020. Susan will speak about Sharron Frontiero who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam Era.
10:30 a.m.

Peggy Lynd Kelly
A graduate of University of Albany NY, she served in Vietnam from November 1969 to November 1970 with the American Red Cross (ARC). While in Vietnam she was stationed in Tuy Hoa, Chu Chi, Cam Ranh Bay and II Field Force, Long Binh. Following Vietnam, she was ARC Youth Director, Wheeling WV. She then worked for the Dept of the Army in Grafenwoehr Germany. While overseas with her Foreign Service Husband she taught at the American School of Bucharest and was the Community Liaison Officer at the United States Interest Section, Havana Cuba.
11:00 a.m.

George Usinowicz
Specialist 5 Combat Medic, (1969), then went on to US Army Engineer Officer Candidate School, Fort Belvoir, VA, earning an officer’s commission. First Lieutenant Combat Engineer Platoon Leader of 35 men supporting the 25th Infantry Division’s operations in Cu Chi and Camp Frenzell-Jones, Republic of Vietnam (1970-71). Returned to complete his college degree upon retiring from his career, at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, he was the president of the College’s Veterans’ Club, and Magna Cum Laude graduate.
11:30 a.m.

Kirsten Talken-Spaulding, National Park Service
Currently serving as superintendent to Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, Kirsten Talken-Spaulding has held multiple leadership positions with the National Park Service for over twenty years. She began her career in public service after graduating from the College of William and Mary and then completing her Master’s degree in South Carolina. She served in the U.S. Navy reserves and is the proud daughter of Lt. Cdr. George F. Talken who was lost over Vietnam in 1969.
1:00 p.m.

Annual Veterans Day Observance At The Wall – Marsha Four
Volunteered for the Army Nurse Corps during her senior year in nurses training, serving at Ft. Campbell, KY, when she received orders for Vietnam. From 1969 to 1970 she served as an Intensive Care/Recovery Room nurse at the 18th Surgical Hospital, a MUST unit, first at Camp Evans, and then relocated to Quang Tri as the northern most hospital in South Vietnam. She was awarded the Bronze Star for her service. Four has been actively involved in veterans’ issues on a local, regional and national level for over 30 years. She was the initiator and Executive Director of the Philadelphia Stand Down for Homeless Veterans from 1993 to 1999. A member of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) since 1987, Marsha served on its National Board from 1999 to 2019, the last six years as National Vice President.
1:00 p.m.

Annual Veterans Day Observance At The Wall – Full Ceremony

  • Opening Remarks/Master of Ceremony
    Jim Knotts

    • President/CEO, VVMF
  • Invocation
  • Presentation of Colors
    Joint Armed Forces Color Guard

    • Military District of Washington
  • National Anthem
    Dr. Laura Kafka-Price
  • Pledge of Allegiance
    Brian Murphy

    • Vietnam Veterans Memorial Volunteer
      Brother of Richard B. Murphy, Panel 57W, Line 29
  • Retiring the Colors
  • Welcome
    Jeff Reinbold

    • Superintendent
      National Mall and Memoial Parks
  • Vietnam Women’s Memorial
    Marsha Four

    • Vietnam Veteran, U.S. Army Nurse Corps
  • Keynote Remarks
    Brig. Gen. George B. Price, USA (Ret.)
  • Wreath Laying
    Organization Representatives
  • Amazing Grace
    Chris Jackson

    • Bagpiper
  • Taps
Story Telling at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial is an educational program presented by Eastern National and the National Park Service. We commemorate and honor those who served in the Vietnam War as well as in more recent conflicts.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance with sound provided by Ohm Productions.

In 2015 the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation joined Eastern National. We are dedicated to honoring women who served during the Vietnam era. For additional information on the Memorial or its products and projects, including other educational programs or research on women who served during the Vietnam era, you are invited to visit the Vietnam Women’s Memorial website at www.VietnamWomensMemorial.org. Donations to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial which support these and other programs are always appreciated. To donate to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, please write to:Vietnam Women’s Memorial Fund, c/o Eastern National
470 Maryland Drive, Suite 1
Fort Washington, PA 19034

Or email: vietnamwomensmemorial@easternnational.org.

If you would like to participate in the Story Telling program for Memorial Day 2020 please contact Nick Miano, Regional Manager for Eastern National at (703) 837-9099 or via email at nickmiano@easternnational.org. You may also contact the Memorial’s Advisory Board Chair Diane Carlson Evans via e-mail at vietnamwomensmemorial@easternnational.org.

If you or someone you care for finds that they need help coping with the aftermath of Vietnam, you are invited to call the Veterans’ Administration at 1-800-273-8255. They will assist you, including connecting you to the counseling services offered by Vet Centers located throughout the United States.