Regis College - Ranger Yearbook (Denver, CO)

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I visited the Memorial today. I felt anger and pain for the men who had to go away. I switched places with a man I picked from the wall, Twenty years ago today, I saw his unit taking a fall. I felt his fear as I looked through his eyes and Placed myself beside him to watch my best friend die. The picture became clearer as I sank into his mind. I asked myself the same questions he head many times . . . Why am I here? When do I go home? The ugliness, the pain, the lies ... all alone The frustration and the anxiety grew day by day Until suddenly, one night, I felt an enemy ' s bullet take the pain all away. This scared me back to myself and my place by the wall . . . I took my hand one last time and ran it over the boy ' s name Who I had become that fall, Again I felt the emotions, the anger, the pain. Yet I felt comfort knowing the boy ' s name would always remain. I would not forget my friend or the thousands more Who gave their lives for us, the ultimate gift of being born. We will return to class tomorrow and the wall will have been moved away . . . But in our hearts and in our souls the names and memories will always stay. By Mike Shomion ... The Wall 21

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-T HE WALL: VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL = he Regis campus was visited this year by a half size replica ol the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. On Friday September 12th the Regis community began to witness the 140 panels of the wall being put into place. These panels would bisect the quadrangle for ten days while thousands of people visited the Regis campus to view the memorial. On Saturday the opening ceremony was marked by the Colorado Air National Guard who performed the missing man flyover. At this ceremony the College and the Regis Community paid tribute and welcome to John Devitt, the force behind the moving wall. The replica of the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial is exactly one half the size of the memorial in Wahington D.C. containing 58,022 names of those who died in the Vietnam War. Of those names 2,433 are officially listed as missing in action, and many donated money to help the POW MIA families while visiting the wall. The presence of The Wall at Regis had pronouced effects thoughout the state. People trav- eled hundreds of miles to view this amazing tribute to the young men and women who fought for their country. A group of about 80 veterans walking 65 miles from Fort Collins arrived at the campus on the opening day of the wall, marching in cadence, carrying the American flag, and holding a torch which represented the fight of those veter- ans who are alive today. As they stood in front of the wall, the pain, the anger, and the suffering were all to apparent. But in spite of these, one could also feel the friendship and love which bonded these people together on their journey. The pledge they made for life brought tears to their tired eyes as they found their way to the names of the friends they had lost. During the stay of the wall, the students of Regis were probably more affected than most of the visitors. For them it was a learning experience, as they not only saw the tears of the mothers and fathers whose boys names appeared on the wall, but were constantly reminded of the thousands of deaths, as the names echoed across the quad from 9:00am to 5:00pm every day . . . James Michael Johnson, James Stewart Johnson, Jim Johnson, John Kenneth Johnson 20 The Wall

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■A NIGHT TO FROLIC nxiously awaited as the first semi-formal dance of the year, Fall Frolic was heavily attended by Regis students. The dance was held at the Downtown Denver Marriott on September 26th. First, couples hit the favorite dinner spots including Baby Does ' , The Broker, Top of the Rockies, and China Terrace. After dinner, Regis cou- ples began arriving, fashionably late, of course, and wasted no time getting down to dancing and socializing. Many people enjoyed dancing in groups to the band, Cradel. No doubt, after three weeks of school everyone was glad they finally got a night to Frolic. TOP LEFT BETH: Dave rememher to look natural, like you ' n having fun. TOP RIGHT: Who is it ibis week Karen? BOTTOM LEFT: Nice group pose. ' Way to work together. BOTTOM RIGHT: Pound those Junks! 22 Fall Frolic