This custom-painted Harley-Davidson — dubbed the “Wisconsin Rolling Memorial” — was left behind at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1995 as a tribute to Wisconsin service members unaccounted for in Vietnam. Duery Felton Jr., the first full-time curator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection, died in March. (U.S. Army)
Volunteers and visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington are remembering Duery Felton Jr., the first full-time curator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection.
The collection is made up of roughly 400,000 personal objects — photos, letters, dog tags, medals and other mementos — that have been left behind at The Wall since it opened in 1982.
Felton, 78, died on March 16. A veteran himself, Felton served with the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam, where he was seriously wounded in 1967, according to his obituary.
Felton was treated and recovered at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Washington.
He later became a volunteer at The Wall and was hired by the National Park Service as its first curator. His job was to identify, document, and preserve many of the items left behind.
“People come to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to apologize, to communicate, to eulogize and to commemorate,” Felton said, according to the Veterans Breakfast Club, which eulogized the veteran in a recent article.
Volunteers, veterans and visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington are recalling the work and contributions of Army veteran Duery Felton Jr., the first full-time curator who preserved and archived thousands of mementos left at The Wall. Felton, 78, died in March. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
Suzanne Sigona, a volunteer at The Wall since 1988, offered a tribute to Felton, which is being shared on social media:
“Duery was an archivist, a caretaker, a detective and a student. He often followed a lead to ensure that something was correctly identified and properly stored. Given the volume of offerings in the early days, it was quite a challenge. He owned that responsibility every day. He had passion and integrity.
“On a lighter side of this message, one Memorial Day weekend, a group from Wisconsin rolled in a Harley and left it at the apex. Duery was immediately notified. Without hesitation, he said, ‘I guess I’d better quit joking about someone possibly leaving me a Huey.’ His devotion to his position with the National Park Service is legendary, and his work lives on.”
The “Wisconsin Hero Bike” is a 1960s-era Harley-Davidson left at The Wall in 1995. It was custom-painted and bears the names of 37 Wisconsin service members unaccounted for in Vietnam.
A Democratic lawmaker from New Jersey is leading an effort to make it easier for veterans who take opioid drugs to have quicker access to rescue medication that reverses the effects of an overdose.
The End Veterans Overdose Act, introduced by Rep. Herb Conaway, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide Narcan to veterans without a prescription or co-payment.
Narcan is the brand name for a device that delivers the drug naloxone, which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
The bill also would enable caregivers to obtain the medication for veterans.
Conaway is a physician, attorney and former Air Force captain who served in the Medical Corps from 1992 to 1996.
Higher rates of mental health disorders and chronic pain among veterans have contributed to higher rates of opioid use disorder, according to the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted this week to advance the bill for a vote by the full chamber. Conaway is a committee member.
A companion bill led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is pending a Senate vote.
A new report by the Government Accountability Office identifies security vulnerabilities that the watchdog agency found during undercover tests at selected Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities.
In 30 separate undercover tests, the watchdog agency found that VA staff did not detect a prohibited weapon that a GAO investigator carried into VA medical facilities, including two that had metal detectors, according to the report.
VA staff, in 25 out of 26 tests, did not confront an undercover GAO investigator who pretended to be drinking alcohol openly and in public view at VA medical facilities, according to the report.
“VA employees, veteran patients and medical facilities have been the targets of violence, threats and other security-related incidents in recent years, including nonviolent crimes such as disorderly conduct and theft,” according to the report, issued Wednesday.
VA hospitals and clinics are required to conduct facility security assessments, mitigate security risks and implement 24/7 security in emergency departments, according to the GAO.
VA Press Secretary Quinn Slaven issued the following statement Friday, in response to the GAO report:
“The second Trump administration inherited from the Biden administration a fractured VA police force plagued with problems. VA identified many of the issues highlighted in the report independently of GAO early in 2025, and since then the department has been working to fix them. Successful efforts so far include establishing the Office of Security and Preparedness — led by its own assistant secretary — and consolidating VA police operations under this office,” Slaven said.
“Now all VA police report to a law enforcement professional with a direct line to the VA secretary’s office. This is a big improvement from before, when VA police reported to nearly 150 different medical center directors across the nation — some of whom were making officers serve as valet parking attendants.
“The Biden administration’s VA did nothing stop a proposal that would have cut the pay of 90% of VA police officers, which left VA police in limbo. But the second Trump administration worked with the Office of Personnel Management to reclassify VA police officers to qualify for higher pay based on the complex work these officers do.
“This will lead to better recruitment, retention and more upward mobility among VA police, a more stable force overall and safer VA facilities department wide,” Slaven said.
John Bernard Arnold III, of Massachusetts, served aboard the USS Houston in World War II. The heavy cruiser was known as the “Galloping Ghost” after the Japanese falsely claimed to have torpedoed the ship several times before it sunk on March 1, 1942, according to Naval History and Heritage Command.
From a crew of more than 1,000, approximately 650 sailors and Marines died in the ship’s final battle, Naval History and Heritage Command said.
Arnold, who died on May 6, not only survived service aboard the USS Houston, he outlived immediate family members.
Arnold, of East Bridgewater, leaves behind no known family to host and attend his funeral, according to Hanover (Mass.) Veterans Services.
Hanover Veterans Services is inviting the public to celebrate his life at a memorial service scheduled for Monday, May 18, at Saint Joseph the Worker Church in Hanson, Mass.
Attendees, pallbearers and procession participants are needed to give him a proper burial, Hanover Veterans Services said.
Author Joe Quintero, a member of the National Guard Special Forces, has penned a children’s book, “I’ll Love You Near, I’ll Love You Far,” which looks at the struggles of missing a deployed parent, through the eyes of a child. (Joe Quintero)
Joe Quintero has penned a storybook — available at Walmart and from Amazon — that is for children waiting for a deployed parent to come home.
The illustrated story “I’ll Love You Near, I’ll Love You Far” honors every branch of the military “and is built for the kids doing the waiting at home,” said Quintero, a member of the Army National Guard Special Forces. He dedicated the book to his daughter.
A portion of the proceeds from sales is donated to the Green Beret Foundation and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
“Through words and images, [the book] seeks to reassure young readers that a parent’s love remains constant no matter the distance, time, or space that separates them,” according to the foreword.
Keith Hobgood illustrated the book.
Hobgood also created the pictures for “Why My Hero Had to Go,” by Talitha Vickers, another book telling the story of a young child missing a parent who is away on active duty.
