Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           
    Date: 11/13/96
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple  or Karen Fulda (543-1981)

 LOCAL VIETNAM EXHIBIT INTRODUCES YOUTH TO HISTORY
     HAMMOND -- "I came here recently before dawn, and it was empty. The wind was
knocking over your flowers, and squirrels were playing on top of your black ledge. I stood at the
apex of a wall, I guess at the apex of a war; and it started to pour. I just stood there."
     This tribute, by 21-year-old Racheline Maltese, is one of many shared via Internet by
visitors to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D. C. Maltese writes that she cried at the
wall although she doesn't remember the war and knows not one name etched into the marble.
     The wall's power to transcend generations has spurred local efforts to bring the Vietnam
Moving Wall Exhibit to Hammond, Dec. 5 through 8. Visitors may view the exhibit free of
charge 24 hours a day at the War Memorial Student Union on the Southeastern Louisiana
University campus. The project is funded by the City of Hammond.
     "My biggest concern is for this to be an education for young people," says Philip A.
Monteleone, head of a committee organizing the exhibit.
     Monteleone, himself a Vietnam veteran, says young people have much to 
learn from Vietnam, chiefly that they must be active citizens supporting each other and serving
as watchdogs over government decisions.
     When asked how he would summarize for youngsters the war's place in American
history, Monteleone says, "We went to help a weak nation defend itself and to promote
democracy. In the process we got too involved. Some decisions in Washington fell short and war
was continued too long."
     Efforts to involve young people in the event include an essay contest open to Tangipahoa
                                 (MORE) 
WALL ESSAY CONTEST -- Add One
 Parish students in grades 4 through 12. Interested students may send essays on "What the
Vietnam War Means to Me" to program sponsor Bellsouth Mobility, Vietnam Memorial Essay
Contest, 375 South Morrison Blvd., Hammond, LA 70401. Deadline for entries is Nov. 22. Each
student should include his/her name, address, telephone number, and school name on the first
page of the essay. First prize for the 9th through 12th grade category is a personal computer.
Other prizes include savings bonds and gifts certificates. Top winners in each age category will
ride in the Hammond Christmas Parade, Dec. 7.
     Additionally, Tangipahoa Parish schools are invited to fieldtrips at the wall Friday, Dec.
6.
     The wall is made of aluminum cast to resemble the marble memorial in Washington, D.
C. It is 240 feet long and nearly 6 feet high. It is etched with the same names which appear on the
permanent wall in the nation's capital, commemorating more than 58,000 people reported dead,
missing, or taken prisoner in Vietnam. Among the names are 888 former Louisiana residents.
     All visitors may touch the wall and make etchings of names carved in it. The exhibit is
free of charge, as are sunrise ceremonies every morning and the opening ceremonies Dec. 6.
Retired Maj. Gen. James Livingston will speak at opening ceremonies and serve as marshal of
the Hammond Christmas Parade.
     Members of the committee coordinating the exhibit include Monteleone, Karen Fulda,
Edwin Litolff, Kathy Pittman, Joey Sanders, and Videt Widmier.
     Anyone interested in more information may call Monteleone at (504) 567-8377 or Fulda
at (504) 543-1981.
                                 - SLU -
              SLU Public Information on the World Wide Web:
          www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/maincont.htm