WASHINGTON – US Senator Charles Schumer is pushing to have the names of 74 Americans enshrined on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC. Among those is Dennis Ralph Johnson, who was born in Tarrytown.
The senator said he has been fighting for years to have the names of Johnson and his fellow sailors engraved on Vietnam Vets Wall.
On June 3, 1969, the USS Frank E. Evans collided with an Australian aircraft carrier during a joint naval exercise in the South China Sea killing 74 American sailors. Because the tragedy took place outside of the official Vietnamese combat zone, the crew was deemed ineligible for inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The senator said the geographical lines should not supersede recognition when it comes to service.
“It is a mistake and an injustice that 74 veterans, including Dennis Ralph Johnson, bravely served their country in the Vietnam War and cannot be recognized on the national Vietnam Memorial Wall because of an overly strict and inflexible interpretation of a bureaucratic rule,” Schumer said. “These sailors served their country well, both inside and outside the combat zone, and the collision that caused these brave Americans to lose their lives should be considered directly linked to the war.”
