But not for Lt. Col. Donald J. O’Connor, FCRH ’63, who, as a member of the 1st Marine Regiment, served south of Da Nang in 1968 and 1969. He will never forget his fellow soldiers and classmates killed in Vietnam.

“Every time I go to Mass, I pray for the deceased,” O’Connor said. “I remember every man I knew who died there. We must always remember them.”

On April 21, Fordham remembered by dedicating a Vietnam War Memorial inscribed with the names of the 23 University alumni who perished in that conflict. The creation of the new memorial, which resides in the narthex of University Church, was spearheaded by William Burke Sr., FCRH ’65, LAW ’68 (pictured right), who attended Fordham with students who served in the war.

“This memorial is a reminder of how lucky we are in this country and a true acknowledgement that Fordham remembers its heroes,” said Burke. “God bless them.”
The dedication and Mass included a blessing of the church’s new Maior Dei Gloria organ, as the sound of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Major filled the sanctuary.

— Jim Reisler

Photos by Chris Taggart

After For many, the Vietnam War is a distant memory, a decades-old conflict defined by news coverage focused as much on the protests against an unpopular war as on the men who fought it.

But not for Lt. Col. Donald J. O’Connor, FCRH ’63, who, as a member of the 1st Marine Regiment, served south of Da Nang in 1968 and 1969. He will never forget his fellow soldiers and classmates killed in Vietnam.

“Every time I go to Mass, I pray for the deceased,” O’Connor said. “I remember every man I knew who died there. We must always remember them.”

On April 21, Fordham remembered by dedicating a Vietnam War Memorial inscribed with the names of the 23 University alumni who perished in that conflict. The creation of the new memorial, which resides in the narthex of University Church, was spearheaded by William Burke Sr., FCRH ’65, LAW ’68 (pictured right), who attended Fordham with students who served in the war.

“This memorial is a reminder of how lucky we are in this country and a true acknowledgement that Fordham remembers its heroes,” said Burke. “God bless them.”
The dedication and Mass included a blessing of the church’s new Maior Dei Gloria organ, as the sound of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Major filled the sanctuary.

— Jim Reisler, Photos by Chris Taggart

]]> 6376 https://now.fordham.edu/politics-and-society/fordham-remembers-its-fallen-heroes/ Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:40:09 +0000 http://news.fordham.sitecare.pro/?p=29872 For many, the Vietnam War is a distant memory, a decades-old conflict defined by news coverage focused as much on the protests against an unpopular war as on the men who fought it.

But not for Lt. Col. Donald J. O’Connor, FCRH ’63, who, as a member of the 1st Marine Regiment, served south of Da Nang in 1968 and 1969. He will never forget his fellow soldiers and classmates killed in Vietnam.

“Every time I go to Mass, I pray for the deceased,” O’Connor said. “I remember every man I knew who died there. We must always remember them.”

On April 21, Fordham remembered by dedicating a Vietnam War Memorial inscribed with the names of the 23 University alumni who perished in that conflict. More than 300 people, including O’Connor and many of the more than 200 Fordham alumni Vietnam veterans, attended the dedication and Mass at the University Church presided over by Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. (story continues below)

Originally set for early November, the ceremony, which included a celebration of the church’s new Maior Dei Gloria Organ, was pushed back several months due to Hurricane Sandy. That enabled what Robert R. Grimes, S.J., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, called in his homily a “triple dedication,” devoted not only to Fordham’s Vietnam veterans and the new custom-made organ but also to the liturgy of Good Shepherd Sunday and its celebration of life and rebirth.

The new organ created what Fordham Director of Liturgical Music Robert Minotti called a bolder and “much more symphonic” sound than the church’s old Tracker organ. Assembled by Schoenstein & Co. in Benicia, Calif., the new organ was made possible by the generosity of Stephen E. Bepler, FCRH ’64; his wife, Kim B. Bepler; the late George Doty, FCRH ’38;  Joelle and Brian Kelly LAW ’95; and John C. Walton, FCRH ’72 and Jeanette D. Walton, TMC ’71, GSAS ’73.

Sunday’s dedication and Mass featured Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G major and pieces by John Rutter and Richard Strauss. Accompanying Minotti and Assistant Organist Anthony Rispo and adding to the poignancy of the ceremony were the Schola Cantorum, the University Choir, and University Women’s Choir.

But mostly the day was about Fordham’s fallen Vietnam heroes. “None of our 23 classmates wanted to die, but they were willing to and that’s what makes them special,” said retired U.S. Army Gen. John M. “Jack” Keane, GSB ’66. “They were willing to put at risk everything they cared about—and for what? A simple yet profound sense of duty. This is true honor and we can never, ever take that kind of devotion for granted.”

Father McShane agreed, noting the ceremony’s “sense of solemnity, respect, devotion, and honor set forth and created by the organ and the choirs,” which, he said, helped those assembled give “honor to honorable men.”

For Keane, a retired four-star general and a former vice chief of staff of the Army, the 23 men were soldiers of extraordinary valor. Among them were two Medal of Honor recipients, Father Vincent R. Capodanno, FCRH ’52, and Robert C. Murray, FCRH ’68. They included winners of a Distinguished Service Cross, an Air Force Cross, two Silver Stars, and two Bronze Stars. They died between 1964 and 1973; all but one served as an officer.

The Vietnam memorial resides in the narthex of University Church, close to the 230 names of Fordham alumni who died in World War II. It supplements another plaque in the Rose Hill Gymnasium, which includes 20 names of Fordham students killed in the war. Those 20 were honored in a 2003 reunion organized by William Burke Sr., FCRH ’65, LAW ’68, who called his tireless efforts on behalf of Fordham’s Vietnam veterans over the years “a way to thank these men.”

After the 2003 event, Burke learned about three additional Fordham alumni soldiers killed in Vietnam, and he spearheaded the effort to create a new memorial to be located in the church.

“This memorial is a reminder of how lucky we are in this country and a true acknowledgement that Fordham remembers its heroes,” said Burke. “God bless them.”

To read General Keane’s remarks, click here.

Please join us for a dedication of a Vietnam War Memorial to honor those members of the Fordham community killed in action in the Vietnam War. All veterans will be honored.

In addition, we will be celebrating the completion of the University’s new Maior Dei Gloria organ, featuring the University’s Schola Cantorum, University Choir, and Women’s Choir, with Brass Quintet and Timpani.

The Reverend Joseph M. McShane, S.J., President of Fordham University, will preside over the Mass.

For more information, contact Jake Braithwaite at 212-636-7501 or [email protected].

Fordham University will dedicate a Vietnam War memorial created last fall, in loving memory of 23 Fordham alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in the Vietnam War. The memorial has been engraved with their names.

The recognition ceremonies will take place on Sunday, April 21 at 10:30 a.m. in “A Mass of Celebration and Dedication,” inside the University Church on the Rose Hill campus. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, will be the Mass celebrant.

Prior to the dedication of the Vietnam memorial, the Fordham ROTC Color Guard will do a presentation of the colors. The memorial, which was installed last November coinciding with Veterans Day, accompanies the current memorial in the church’s vestibule that honors alumni veterans of World War II.

The memorial will join the current memorial in the church’s vestibule that honors the veterans of World War II.

A plaque featuring the portraits of 20 Vietnam War veterans was displayed at the Rose Hill Gym in 2004, but William Burke Sr., FCRH ’65, LAW ’68, said the initial dedication was so well attended that, through the grapevine, he learned of three more Rams who had died in the line of duty.

Burke credited Daniel J. Cremin, FCRH ’65, a retired U.S. Army colonel, with helping him locate them, as well as others who served and returned home. A list of every Fordham graduate who served in Vietnam will also be added to in the archives.

With the recent renovations in the University Church, there will be room for the Vietnam plaque in the foyer alongside the names of the rest of the Rams who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Fordham has always honored its veterans and the people killed in action,” he said. “Our Vietnam veterans should be recognized as the others were. There’s no question they should be, and it’s just a matter of how we do it,” he said.

“[The vestibule] is where it should be, with the souls of all the others. It’s a Catholic University, and we pray for the souls.”

For Burke, the memorial, which will also have room for future additions, marks the end of a long journey that he undertook to honor fellow alumni. He said he never forgot the stories that his friends told him about their experiences overseas.

“Fordham has always had a love of the military, and has been a great supporter.

“Sometimes you just need alumni to step up and volunteer to head something up,” he said.

“I think the guys deeply appreciate that Fordham is recognizing what they did for the country, and I think like all of us, they want to make sure those 23 soldiers are always in Fordham’s heart.”