‘Proud family moment’ as Biden honors Worcester soldier killed in Vietnam
"When something like this happens I think we all kind of stop.”
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With a pencil and small sheet of white paper in hand, President Joe Biden traced the name of a Worcester native who was killed in action during the Vietnam war decades ago: Dennis F. Shine.
The first lady Jill Biden set a white bouquet of flowers at the base of the mirror-like Vietnam War Memorial wall as she and the president paused to pay tribute in Washington, D.C. on Monday afternoon. After an unannounced arrival at the site around 5:30 p.m., the pair observed a moment of silence to honor the lives of more than 58,000 veterans who are listed on the towering black granite plaque.
A name was then selected from the structure for a traditional rubbing, and Shine’s son said the gesture is one his family will never forget.
“It’s a sign. One of those God instances,” Dennis Shine, who was named after his father, told CBS Boston. “We live our lives and do everything we can on a daily basis to be good people. When something like this happens I think we all kind of stop.”
He said his family has celebrated their dad for years through the public swimming pool in Worcester that’s named after him.
“We weren’t quite sure how to navigate losing a dad in a war that no one wanted to talk about,” Shine told the station.
The moment on Monday officially marked the 48th anniversary of the departure of the last U.S. combat troops from the war zone in Vietnam.
“It’s a proud family moment,” he said. “A Gold Star family moment for sure. Very, very proud.”
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