Stephens Co. Man to be Honored in Washington This Weekend

A Stephens County man is among hundreds that will be recognized posthumously this weekend in Washington, D.C.

Donald Norris of Toccoa is among a large group of veterans that will be recognized Saturday at a ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s “In Memory” program.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Director of Communications Heidi Zimmerman said Saturday’s event will honor a group of veterans who served in Vietnam and came home, but died later as a result of a condition that stemmed from their service in Vietnam.

“We will be honoring 312 Vietnam veterans whose lives were cut short as a result of their service in Vietnam, yet are not eligible for inscription on the Wall under DoD guidelines,” said Zimmerman. “It is typically veterans that have illnesses related to Agent Orange. That is the majority of the cause.”

The “In Memory” program began in 1999.

Zimmerman said since it started, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has honored more than 2,800 veterans.

“This is one of our bigger years,” said Zimmerman. “Last year, we honored 165 and this year, it is 312, so unfortunately, it is a growing problem, but it is something we feel very strongly about that these veterans should be honored.”

She went on to say that the fund could not be more proud to recognize veterans through this program.

“There are 58,315 names on the Wall, but there are nearly three million who served in country and no one knew when the Wall was built in 1982, that veterans were going to continue to die from causes related to their service, so we just feel that it is really important to honor all of their service.”

This year’s “In Memory” program is set for Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the “In Memory” program, go online to www.vvmf.org.