What: Press Conference
Date: Saturday, March 1, 2003
Time: 2:00 PM PST
Location: Bob Hope Hollywood USO Center, 203 World Way, LA Int'l Airport
(LAX arrival level, between terminals 1 & 2; adjacent parking)
 

Vietnam 2003: In Honor, Peace and Understanding

As such, SDIT will visit Vietnam to: Honor their fathers and all who served in the war; to seek a measure of inner Peace through better comprehension their life-changing loss; and to gain a better Understanding of the people and country where their fathers fought and died.

The fathers of these "sons and daughters" were servicemen from each branch of the US Military who fought in every campaign during the Vietnam War.  Today, these "sons and daughters" are in their 30's and 40's, they are fathers and mothers with families of their own. Those leaving for Vietnam come from 24 different states and the District of Columbia.

Beginning March 2, the trip will include visits to many of the sites that played significant roles in America's longest war: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Hue, Da Nang, China Beach, Khe Sanh, Bien Hoa, the Mekong Delta and Hanoi. While in Vietnam, the delegation will break into nine teams to visit different regions of the country and provide each son and daughter an emotional visit to the location where their fathers died.

For ten years, this organization has helped its members confront their loss and realize that they are not alone in that struggle. "Now we have the chance to help them see, touch and experience the land where our fathers died," said SDIT founder Tony Cordero of San Pedro, CA, one of five children of Air Force Major William E. Cordero (KIA 1965).
" I'm not seeking closure. Grief is a journey that has a beginning but never any end. At least not in this life", said Karen Spears-Zacharias of Pendleton, OR daughter of Army SSG David Spears (KIA 1966). 

In its efforts to generate the funding necessary to stage this historic trip, SDIT received major support from Vietnam Veterans of America, Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, VietNow and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. An untold number of individuals, many of whom fought alongside these fallen fathers, also contributed to the cause.

For 13 years, SDIT has worked to locate, unite and provide support to the now-grown children of US Servicemen lost in the Vietnam War.In that time, more than 3,000 members have been able to contact veterans who served with their fathers, visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, share their life experiences with others and take pride in knowing that the loss of their father was not in vain.

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 26, 2001 – Sons and Daughters In Touch, the national organization representing children of American servicemen lost during the Vietnam War, will take its members to Vietnam to retrace the final footsteps their fathers left a generation ago.  Scheduled for the spring of 2003, the trip will include visits to many of the sites that played significant roles in the war: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Bien Hoa, Hue, Da Nang, China Beach, the DMZ, the central highlands, and Hanoi.

“I can’t think of a better time for SDIT and its members to visit Vietnam.  For ten years, this organization has helped its members confront their loss and realize that they are not alone in that struggle.  Now we have the chance to help them touch, see and feel the land where their fathers died,” said SDIT founder Tony Cordero, son of Air Force Major Bill Cordero (KIA 1965).

SDIT anticipates that as many as 200 of its members will make the two-week trip, making it the largest visit of its kind to the country where America fought its longest war.   Interested veterans and other family members will only add to the size of the travel group. With so many SDIT members hoping to visit the actual site where their fathers died, travel planners will arrange for smaller groups to make side visits to these remote battlefields and villages.

To offset many of the planning costs, and to make the trip affordable for its members, SDIT will launch a fund-raising campaign to generate up to $500,000.  The group will look to supportive veterans organizations, corporations, and other individuals for assistance in reaching this goal.

“Two years ago, I was able to visit Vietnam and to make personal contact with my dad.  I couldn’t have done it without the help of some very supportive Vietnam veterans,” said Michelle Baugh, of Centralia, IL, daughter of Army SP4 Richard Githens (KIA 1968). 

With the tremendous support of America’s veterans, SDIT has hosted four major Fathers’ Day ceremonies at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.  For many of the attendees, those events provided the initial opportunity to see their father’s name inscribed on the memorial and to meet others who lost their father during the Vietnam War.

Interested participants and contributors can complete information forms at the SDIT web site: www.sdit.org or can call 800-984-9994.

Sons and Daughters In Touch is a fully accredited non-profit 501(c)3 organization that has been meeting the needs of its members since 1990.  SDIT members are the children of men who served at nearly every rank -- in every branch -- of the US military.  Today, these children are testaments to the sacrifice of their fathers.  They have become parents, priests, professional athletes, business-professionals and more.