The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress
Special Commemorative Issue, November 2002
Lighting The Way
In the early morning hours of Saturday, January 13, volunteers from two International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) unions gathered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington to replace the lights on the cobbled path in front of The Wall.The 14 volunteers were recruited by longtime VVA member Will Schwartz, a member of IBEW Local 24 in Baltimore, and included members of IBEW Local 26 in Washington, D.C.
Joining Schwartz, a former Maryland State Council president, were fellow Baltimore Local 24 members Jack Sowers, Donald Peters, Robert Kulp, Jim McDermott, Will Richardson, and Ivan S. Anderson.
D.C. Local 26 members who took part were: Jerry Lozupone, Joe Dabbs, Norm Strickland, Richard Wylie, Chuck Graham, Butch Ramos, Lany R. Greenhill, and International Representative Bud Satterfield.
Although many of the volunteers were not veterans, they willingly donated their time and effort to help with this project. The veterans in the group said they were honored to volunteer their time to help.
The 72 lights were replaced with 10-watt quartz lamps, each with a life expectancy of 4,000 hours. The lamps were donated by PBM Lembach Group, Marlin Electric in Fairfax, Virginia.
In the past, bulb replacement has been erratic. The IBEW volunteers plan to change that. Early one morning this spring, they will return once again to replace all the bulbs along the walkway.
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