Alumni to be honored on Vietnam memorial

Capt. Robert A. "Bo" Thompson '62 was one of 29 University of North Georgia (UNG) alumni killed in action in the Vietnam War. His name is on "The Wall That Heals" Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica as it stops at UNG Oct. 29 through Nov. 3. The traveling memorial will open to the public after the 5 p.m. Oct. 30 opening ceremony. 

Fifty-seven years after his death, Bo Thompson's legacy lives on in the service and sacrifice he gave and in the family and friends he inspired. His son, retired Col. John Thompson '87, and grandson Capt. Bryce Thompson '14 followed in his footsteps, with a three-generation legacy of Army helicopter pilots. Bryce Thompson is on active duty and will be promoted to major in January 2025.

Bo Thompson wrote a special letter to his son, John, on his second birthday while he was in Vietnam, just months before he was shot down and killed. The letter was given to John Thompson by his grandmother when John Thompson was 18 and deciding what direction to take in his life. John Thompson said the letter profoundly affected him and it continues to encourage him to this day as a husband, father and Christian. 

A full-circle moment came for the Thompson family in 2021 when Bo and John Thompson were inducted together into the Georgia Military Veterans' Hall of Fame. John Thompson found it especially poignant that three of his father's platoon members attended the induction ceremony. 

"For me to still have a relationship with those guys and for them to show up to that induction ceremony was tremendously moving and special, not just for me personally, but for my friends and family attending," John Thompson said. "It speaks to Dad's character, leadership and the friendships he had formed during that time frame."

John Thompson said his personal experience with losing his father and being a Gold Star son also helped him relate and empathize with other Gold Star family members and know how to encourage them during the loss of their soldier.   

Cindy Rao has no memory of her father, Capt. Robert W. Garth Jr. '61. She was 3 when he was killed in action in Vietnam in 1966 at age 27. Her brother was 2 at the time.

Rao hopes to come to The Wall That Heals with her 85-year-old mother, Farrell Garth, and retired Col. Gerald Lord '61, a classmate of Robert Garth's and former professor of military science and commandant at UNG.

"It's wonderful that he is, in my eyes, the hero that he is," Rao said. "He was a wonderful man, and everyone who knew him would tell you that."

Occasions like the traveling Vietnam memorial bring a mix of sadness and pride in her father's accomplishments, Rao said. She reflected back on what she felt on her 27th birthday.

"I felt like a kid still, and that was the end of his life," Rao said. "All that he did accomplish in that short time was amazing in every way."

Carl "Skip" Bell '67 said times like The Wall That Heals coming to town are cathartic for Vietnam veterans and those who knew service members from the conflict.  

"It's good for other people to remember that people died for the freedom they have. This country’s worth dying for. These are good men that died. They deserved to live a long life," Bell said. "I should have died before I was 25. A lot of us have a hard time believing we've lived this long."

UNG's Special Collections and Archives has organized a display that includes information on all 29 alumni killed in Vietnam that will be displayed in the lobby of the Library Technology Center while The Wall That Heals is on campus. The library also has letters from 1st Lt. Robert I. Rabb '68, who was among those killed, to his family during the Vietnam War.

The UNG alumni who were killed in Vietnam include:

• 2nd Lt. Earle J. Bemis '68
• Burton A. Blanton '59
• William A. Branch '63
• 1st Lt. Welborn A. Callahan Jr. '65
• Ralph D. Cordell '57
• William C. Elrod Jr. '62
• Robert W. Garth Jr. '61
• 1st Lt. Walter M. Gibson '68
• John E. Greene, '65
• 1st Lt. Richard A. Gwinn '68
• 1st Lt. Joseph Hillman III '66
• 2nd Lt. William H. Hunt '68
• Charles B. Johnson Jr. '57
• Milo P. Johnson '61
• 1st Lt. Gary C. Jones '62
• Warrant Officer Francis McDowall Jr. '64
• Larron D. Murphy '66
• Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Roy L. Murphy '63
• John R. Pearson '56
• Robert L. Phillips '68
• 1st Lt. Robert I. Rabb '68
• Chief Warrant Officer Robert N. Sauls '60
• Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Leonard Smith '67
• 1st Lt. Daniel R. Spurlin '64
• Air Force Capt. Benny T. Stowers '52
• Robert A. Thompson '62
• 1st Lt. Robert P. Tidwell '67
• Charles R. Williams '58
• 1st Lt. David B. Wood '69