Vet honors 18 who died in Vietnam
By Patrick Cooley, pcooley@mariettatimes.comArticle Photos
At the Veterans Walk of Honor in Marietta there were bricks bearing the names of veterans from numerous wars and conflicts throughout American history, many of them from the Vietnam War.
To commemorate the sacrifice of 18 men who died under his command in the Army in that war, Marietta resident Jim Waybright bought a brick for each of them.
"I feel very good about Marietta and the people in charge of the armory and the city administration for making this happen," Waybright said. "This is a chance for Marietta to honor the veterans who have served, and we hope they will remember those who are on active duty right now."
He noted there is one brick for John Matheny, an officer serving in Iraq right now.
"His father, Joe Matheny, is a math teacher who just retired," Waybright said. "And his mother, Nancy Matheny, is instrumental in the recognition of veterans and those who are serving overseas right now."
When he spoke at the dedication, he talked about the men who served under him in Vietnam.
"These were 18 men who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country," he said.
Waybright thanked the community for its support and for helping to make the veterans walk possible.
"I think the mayor was predicting 1,000 people," he said after the dedication. "And we had many more than 1,000 there. People should be proud Marietta responded in that way."
He said he has posted pictures online of the walk bearing the names of the men who lost their lives in his service, and has gotten comments from individuals all over the country.
"We've had comments from people saying they want to come down and look at the (Veterans Walk) from all over the country," Waybright said.
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MACJAMES
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07-05-08 12:10 AM
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Paula(Weekley)Ferrell,Bill Ferrell and Jason Ferrell drove to Marietta on July4 and visited the Veterans Walk.Paula's brother Gary Weekley is one of the 18 honorees from Bravo Company,3/506 Infantry,101st Airborne Division.
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CandySulllins
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07-03-08 10:49 PM
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I first met Jim in Reno in 2006. My husband Ernie Moore is on one of the bricks purchased by Jim. All of these men were lucky to have someone like Jim Waybright as their Company Commander. I look forward to being able to see this Walk of Honor in the near future. All of the men who have served in any war are true Heroes and Jim and his company are at the top of my hero list. Thanks so much for all you do for your men.
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proudwifepdg
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07-03-08 7:56 PM
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Sorry, those of you who know "us" will see that I hit wrong key on Peter's name - Peter D. Guzman...
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proudwifepdg
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07-03-08 7:52 PM
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I "met" Capt Waybright thru our "family" of Curahees site recently. He had sent me a picture of my husband, Peter D. Guaman's brick on the walk. I had asked him to explain how this came about, as I had no prior knowledge to it's existence, nor the story behind it-this article explained it all, and I couldn't believe that he and his wife, Pat, had taken it upon themselves to honor our heroes in this way; keeping the memory of their sacrifice alive. I will never be able to thank them enough for their generosity and respect for those of us left behind to miss those that were lost much too soon. May they rest in peace, together, in "arms", until ours end up back together again....
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Indian
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07-03-08 7:44 PM
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A job well done and appreciated. Thank you Ladies and gents who protect us or who have protected us.
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pointman
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07-03-08 4:54 PM
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Capt Jim was my company commander as well in Vietnam and Cambodia.I am hoping soon to come back to what was once my home in Marietta and see the memory walk.I would like to thank Jim and his Pat for remembering our 18 heroes we lost in 1970 and we are so proud of what Capt Jim did back now and even more now! I Rick Brown salute the City of Marietta for what you have done here and to Capt Jim Waybright and Pat Waybright.
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Contrarian
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07-03-08 4:25 PM
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Supposedly WASCO is going to map the bricks so there's a guide to finding where your family's brick is located. Agreed that it's hard to find the bricks, but it gives you more time to contemplate the memorial
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jnmatheny
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07-03-08 3:22 PM
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It was so great of Jim Waywright to mention our son in his speech 7/2/08, he knows that service to our country involes servicemenbers & their families. Thanks for your support.
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rosebrown
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07-03-08 3:08 PM
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I met Jim Waybright in 2002 when his platoon found me on the internet to tell me that my husband Leslie H Sabo was going to get the Medal of Honor. He is a true hero to me and one of the nicest gentleman. Iam looking forward to coming to Marietta to see this walk and the brick with my husbands name and the other heroes also.
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Finallap
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07-03-08 12:48 PM
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This memory walk is beautiful,but the way they did it,it makes it very difficult to find the person you are looking for..I would like to have seen a little number in the corner of the brick, and something with the persons name and brick # It took me for ever to find my Dads...Never did find somone else I was looking for
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RichRios
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07-03-08 11:21 AM
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Jim Waybright was my company commander in Vietnam and Cambodia. We served with Bravo Company, 3/506th Infantry Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. His participation in memorializing our fallen heroes on Marietta's Veterans Walk of Honor is a prime example of his character and respect for those who gave all. It was an honor to have served under such a fine leader and selfless man. Jim remains active today in all Bravo Company reunions and other Vietnam veterans'events.
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Contrarian
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07-03-08 10:26 AM
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Jim is a true war hero himself. It was great to see him given a platform on behalf of his comrades.
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