The Moving Wall

The Moving Wall, a smaller scale portable replica of the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D. C., was on display from Sept. 25-29th at the High School in St. Regis Falls, NY. A parade of police and motorcycles escorted the Moving Wall into town where it was put together by a dedicated committee of volunteers.

The Moving Wall was completed in 1984 after nearly 2 years of design and building. It has crisscrossed the United States many times over. Previously, the Moving Wall was in Massena, NY in 1990.

Many area schools took the opportunity to send its students and teachers to the Moving Wall. Students were given assignments to find particular soldier names on the Wall. Not an easy task when there are 58,195 names of servicemen and women listed who have died in the Vietnam War from 1956-1975. There were a few names that belonged to local men from Hogansburg, Bombay, Massena and many of the surrounding cities and towns in northern New York.

One of the names belongs to a young man from State Road in Akwesasne. His name was Clifford L. Tarbell and he was the son of Harvey and Genevieve Tarbell and the brother to many brothers and sisters.

Clifford joined the Army after he graduated from Salmon River in 1968. He was an ironworker in Rochester, NY when he got his orders. He went to boot camp and then shipped out to Vietnam in the summer of 1969. His baby sister was born after he was already in Vietnam and he never got to see her in person; although my mom sent many pictures of the new baby Charity. He wrote as often as he could about where he was and told us about some of the friends that he made along the way and we all would write to him and send him ‘care packages’ containing his favorite candy, bubble gum, books, jacks, playing cards…whatever would fit into a small box and that Cliff could carry with him. Christmas was difficult with him so far away. Spring came along and on Monday, April 11, 1970 we were told by Father Arsenault and a military officer that Cliff had been killed in Vietnam. He had stepped on a land mine. I think this whole community was crying that night…I know that State Road was. Cliff was just 20 years old; he would have celebrated his 21st birthday on May 11th. He died with the rank of SP4 and full military honors were bestowed upon him at his funeral on April 21st.

It is hard to believe that 38 years have passed since that spring and that Cliff was gone for most of our lives.