Never forget Vietnam: Support a 'Wallunteer'

• The official start of U.S. involvement in Vietnam is March 8, 1965
• The Arizona Wall Project will include a scale replica of the famous Wall in Washington, D.C.
• Operation Welcome Home AZ is working to assure that the nation’s Vietnam vets are not forgotten again

There is some debate over when the Vietnam War started for the United States.

Was it the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution by Congress on Aug. 7, 1964? Or the arrival of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at China Beach north of Da Nang on March 8, 1965?

Officially, the Defense Department has opted for the latter. And, so the nation this year is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the start of the Southeast Asian conflict that would take 58,307 American lives.

Vietnam veterans are more familiar with when the war ended. For many of them, that would be ... never. The war never leaves those who were there.

RELATED: Memorials show Phoenix's commitment to veterans

In honor of those who served in Vietnam, a remarkable group of Arizonans known as “Operation Welcome Home AZ” has taken on a great challenge: The volunteers are planning, and will build, an 80-percent scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall on a 7.7-acre site dedicated to the project by the town of Gilbert.

The project, to be known as Welcome Home Veterans Park, will include an education center, as well as a pavilion dedicated to the Vietnamese community of Arizona, and to awareness of Agent Orange and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Inscribed on the Arizona wall, as with the original in Washington, D.C., will be the names of each American who died in Vietnam, including the 623 Arizonans who fell there.

Tour D.C.'s Vietnam Wall:

Rather like the Vietnam War itself, the commemoration of its 50th anniversary is an event few Americans seem keen to “celebrate.” This is a commemoration flying well under the nation’s radar.

And, rather like the experience of the war itself, this commemoration malaise constitutes a real disservice to the men and women who served. Operation Welcome Home AZ and other groups like it are working to assure that history is not repeated — that the nation’s Vietnam vets are not forgotten again.

The “Arizona Wall Project” is well on its way to becoming a reality. It enjoys the enthusiastic support of the state’s political leadership, including Vietnam vets Sen. John McCain and former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley. It is on target for a January 2016 groundbreaking. And its $3 million fundraising goal is on track, as well.

To that end, the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sept. 12 will host an on-field presentation in support of the wall project and its “Wallunteers.” The event will include a special video presentation on the Chase Field Jumbotron. Special Arizona Wall Project tickets for the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers are on sale now.

It will be a time to remember. And to salute.

Because the American military in Vietnam was such a highly mobile force, the average U.S. infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in a year. By comparison, the average infantryman in the South Pacific in World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years of war.

It was an intense, relentless, remorseless war for those who served. Far too often, they came back to a nation that resisted honoring their bravery and sacrifice.

The Arizona Wall Project makes sure that courage is not forgotten. The “Wallunteers” of the Arizona Wall Project deserve our support.