The Purple Heart!
Paul R. Bernard, 3rd District
Public Relations Historian, American Legion
Monday, September 24, 2007
Lewiston
When Robert "Bob" Barnes and
Erik Tiner of the Fortin Group arrived at McMahon School to pick up one of the
three purple hearts to be placed at the apex of the Vietnam Wall they were met with
a challenge. The picture, awards and medals were in a sealed, screwed, glued,
glassed in frame.
Carefully we removed the right side of
the frame and the 1/4 inch plate glass had to be removed with extreme caution as
the children were still making their way to classrooms.
On March 16, 1971, the Lewiston City Council renamed the North Temple
Elementary School after Thomas J. McMahon, Medic, a
Lewiston, Maine soldier
whose heroic self-sacrifice in the Vietnam War
led President Richard M. Nixon to award him the Congressional Medal of Honor
posthumously. Today that medal and the other 13
medals he was awarded including the Bronze Star and three Purple
Heart medals are displayed in a glass case outside the
school library.
Specialist
Fourth Class Thomas J. McMahon, who entered the military in Portland, served
in the U.S. Army, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry, 196th
Brigade, American Division. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously by
distinguishing himself while serving as medical aid man with Company A in
Quang Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam on 19 March 1969. "When the lead
elements of his company came under heavy fire from well fortified enemy
positions, 3 soldiers fell seriously wounded. SP4 McMahon, with complete
disregard for his safety, left his covered position and ran through intense
enemy fire ... He fell mortally wounded before he could rescue the last man.
SP4 McMahon's undaunted concern for the welfare of his comrades at the cost of
his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service
and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army."
I
had the privilege in accompaning Robert Barnes and Erik Tiner with the task of
obtaining the Purple Heart from the McMahon School.
Then the frame containing the medals was
also removed and with extreme delegacy Bob and Erik removed the backing and
removed one of the purple hearts.
McMahon School Principal Althea Walker
oversaw the extraction of the medal assuring that it was done with extreme
caution and respect to the fallen comrade who passed away on March 19th, 1969.
The
Lewiston Police Department then escorted the team back to the Veterans Park
where family members, Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert and Auburn Mayor John Jenkins
and guest were waiting for the 9:00am ceremony.
(A)Roger Martel, Robert "Bob" Barnes and Michael Martel are pictured walking towards the crowd awaiting the laying of the heart. Bob is carrying the purple heart.
(B) Before starting Bob takes a moment of silence.
(C) A team of Navy personnel from Brunswick Naval Air Station was present to erect the wall.
(D) Standing before the apex with the purple heart in hand "Bob" spoke a few words and Roger spoke explaining the origin and meaning behind the purple heart being laid at the apex. A framed printed copy of the origin of placing the purple heart at the apex was later placed at the apex of the wall and eventually in the memorial vault itself.
(E) Robert "Bob" Martel hands the purple heart to Michael McMahon brother of Thomas J. McMahon.
(F) Michael McMahon places his brothers purple heart at the base of the apex. Veterans and citizens along with the Lewiston and Auburn Mayor were present for the early morning ceremony.
(J) Dawn Beaucaire, daughter of Michael McMahon and niece to Thomas J. McMahon takes a photo of the purple heart at the apex.
(K) Lewiston Mayor Laurent Gilbert takes a photo of the purple heart. Mayor Gilbert is also a Vietnam Veteran who lost a good friend and many comrades in the war.
(L-M) Navy team members from Brunswick Naval Air Station carefully lay the base platform over the purple heart in a ceremonial style. The platform does not touch the purple heart as there is space on the top and around the sides of the purple heart. It is not buried as some reporters stated. We do not bury purple hearts or any medals.
(N) The family of Michael McMahon with wife Christine, daughter, Dawn Beaucaire and granddaughters, Alexis and Abigail.
(O) First wall panel goes up.
(P) With several platforms laid the first segment of the wall is put in place.
(Q) Mayor John Jenkins is enjoying carrying panels down the east and west wall. It's probably another type of martial arts work out.
Pictures by; Paul R. Bernard, 3rd District Public Relations Historian, American Legion, Department of Maine
A
B
C
D
E
F
H
I
J
K
L
M
P
N
Q
O
G
Wall
with a Heart
Daniel Hartill, staff writer, Sun Journal
edited by 3rd District Historian
Tuesday, September 25th
Lewiston ~ Before the panels with all those names
rose up, creating a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
overlooking the Androscoggin River, a solemn object needed to be placed at
the base of the apex. The relic: a Purple Heart earned by Medal of Honor
recipient Thomas J. McMahon.
McMahon's brother, Michael, placed the heart on top of the base of the apex
at the center of the wall's East and West wings.
The purple heart will reside there until Sunday afternoon, when the
traveling wall moves on.
Why? Tradition.
As the story goes, when the foundation was poured for the original wall in
Washington, a veteran placed his medal into the hardening concrete.
When asked why he did that, he responded "This wall needs a heart".
McMahon, a Lewiston native who was killed in Vietnam on March 19, 1969, will
be the replica's heart for its stay.
The wall is scheduled to open to the public Friday at sunrise.
In the meantime, volunteers will erect 48 panels, landscape around them and
put up lights, computers, chairs and sound equipment for the thousands of
people who will likely visit.
"When we're done setting up, it will look like it's been here forever," said
Michael Martel of the Fortin Group, a local funeral company that helped
bring the wall to Lewiston. The wall is owned by Dignity Memorial, a
national network of funeral homes.
The replica arrived in Lewiston on Sunday, escorted into the city by more
than 1,000 motorcyclists. The panel assembly began Monday morning with a
crew of about 50, including people from Auburn Public Works and Seabees from
Brunswick Naval Air Station.
Today, workers plan to complete the assembly and spread several truckloads
of mulch around the wall. Then they'll begin setting up the computers that
visitors can use to look up individual names on the wall.
The first official visitors are scheduled to be children.
Fifth- and sixth-graders from Lewiston's public elementary schools are
scheduled to visit Thursday morning along with the entire student body of
McMahon Elementary, which got its name from the man whose medal is buried
beneath the apex on March 16th, 1971 by the Lewiston City Council.
The medal is one of thirteen in a glass case kept in the school lobby,
including the rare blue ribbon with gold stars of the Medal of Honor.
One of the stories will likely be of McMahon's courage. He was a 20-year-old
medic trying to carry injured comrades to safety was he fell mortally
wounded.
His name is one of 58,256 on the wall.
"There will be Vietnam veterans here to answer all their questions," said
Martel, who estimated that more than 1,500 children will visit Thursday.
On Thursday afternoon, the wall will be open for people with disabilities
and people from nursing homes and veterans homes.
The wall will open to the public at dawn Friday and will stay open around
the clock until 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Thomas J. McMahon's Medal of Honor Photo Arrives
This web site was created and is maintained for historical and public relations purposes.
Copyright 2006 ~ All Rights Reserved