I
n December, a plaque honoring
the 27 classmates who served their
country in the Vietnam War was
dedicated to the Girard High School
archives by the Rice Avenue Union High
School Class of 1967 during an assembly
of the student body.
The plaque was the brainchild of
classmate Bob Sydow, and is inscribed
with the veterans’ names according to
the military branch they joined.
“For some time, I’ve been thinking
we should recognize the sacrifice and
service of the veterans in our class,”
Sydow shares, “and after talking to
as many vets as I could about their
experiences and emotions, the idea of a
plaque began to take hold.”
Principal Eric Louis spoke from the
stage to his students about the courage
and dignity of these men and women
who, when called, went willingly to
unfamiliar and hostile places far from
home to serve their country in a war that
would ultimately claim 58,220 American
lives.
“All branches of our military have a
strong presence here at the high school
where they are encouraged to speak
with students who have a very patriotic
response to the military in the wake of
the September 11 attacks,” Louis states.
He attributes his students’ positive,
enthusiastic response to a number of
community factors.
“The Hometown Heroes banners
that line the main streets of town, the
Veterans Day assembly at Elk Valley and
encouragement from family members
have influenced their attitudes toward
the military,” he says. The students are
academic, service-minded and interested
in the technical skills to be gained from
military training.
Though never officially declared a war
by the United States Congress, those
who fought in Vietnam believed it was
most certainly a war.
On Dec. 1, 1969, Americans around
the nation, including the men of the
Girard Class of 1967, watched in
stunned silence CBS’s live coverage as
the Selective Service System conducted
the lottery that would determine the
order of call to military service for men
born between Jan. 1, 1944, and Dec. 31,
1950. The first birthdate drawn was Sept.
14, and it continued on—ultimately
This plaque, dedicated by the Girard High School Class of 1967, honors the 27 classmates who
served our country during the Vietnam War. It’s displayed with the Flight 93 Memorial plaque on
the wall near the front entrance of Girard High School. A duplicate plaque is on display at the Girard
American Legion with memorials honoring veterans from other wars.
2.2 million men were drafted out of an
eligible pool of 27 million.
Denny Bensur, combat soldier with the
Army in Vietnam, presented the plaque
on behalf of all 27 veterans.
“I am honored to represent my
brothers and sisters from my class
who served in the military during the
Vietnam War,” Bensur said. “I am proud
to dedicate this plaque to Girard High
School in memory of those who served.”
He was assisted to the stage by Steve
Dreistadt, Army veteran, who asked for
a moment of silence and gratitude for
classmate John Durlin who was killed in
action on June 23, 1970, while serving as
a Navy SEAL in Vietnam.
Durlin enlisted after graduation and,
after basic training, attended Basic
Underwater Demolition/SEAL training
with Class 044 at NAB Coronado. He
was assigned to SEAL Team One where
he was commissioned to complete such
missions as destroying bridges, planting
mines, and seeking and killing the enemy.
He was engaged in his third tour of duty,
mostly in the Mekong Delta, when the
Huey Iroquois Vulture 27 evacuating
his group from a mission exploded and
crashed in a fiery maelstrom. He was 21
years old. John Stewart Durlin is honored
on panel 9W, row 83, of the Vietnam
Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Bensur, currently the Sergeant-at-
Arms for the Girard American Legion
Post 494 and also for the 29th District
of Pennsylvania, served as a combat
engineer in Vietnam from Aug. 24, 1969,
until Nov. 1, 1970. Drafted April 1, 1969,
he boarded a bus for Buffalo for initial
screenings then on to basic training
at Fort Dix, New Jersey. In Vietnam,
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WEST COUNTY
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SPRING 2019
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