T ALKING SPIRITS

FOREST HILL CEMETERY

On March 29, 1973, the last American combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam and Wisconsin was there in more ways than one. Join the Wisconsin Veterans Museum for their annual Talking Spirits: Forest Hill Cemetery Tours, now celebrating its 25 th year. See, hear, and experience how the Vietnam War changed the lives of thousands of Wisconsinites for decades to come. These tours will feature four vignettes along the tour route, as historical actors portray veterans’ experiences in Vietnam, as well as the policymakers who brought the war to conclusion, and the important mission of bringing our MIA’s home.

SCHOOL TOURS: OCTOBER 2-5 | CANDLELIGHT TOURS: OCTOBER 7

PUBLIC (DAYTIME) TOURS: OCTOBER 8

GEORGE E. MANUEL was born on July 5, 1917 in North Carolina. He was living there when he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1939, serving throughout World War II. He rejoined the U.S. Air Force in 1951. Interestingly, the U.S. military segregated African-Americans during World War II, but had desegregated by the time Manuel rejoined in 1951, so he experienced both situations. He remained in the Air Force, serving at Truax Field in Madison for a time, until 1966, when he retired with 20 years of service.

MELVIN ROBERT LAIRD JR. was an American politician, writer, and statesman. He was a U.S. congressman from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 before serving as Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon. Laird was instrumental in forming the administration’s policy of withdrawing U.S. soldiers from the Vietnam War; he coined the expression “Vietnamization,” referring to the process of transferring more responsibility for combat to the South Vietnamese forces.

RICHARD W. FISCHER vanished in Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province when he was part of a Marine ambush team. Military investigators started searching for Fischer’s body in the area where he disappeared in the 1990s. After tips from local residents, they excavated a burial site where they found his remains in 1994. Investigators initially failed to recover a DNA sequence from bone samples to prove it was Fischer. Technology improved over time, and they succeeded in obtaining a sequence in 2007. Fischer’s sister and niece gave DNA samples, which were matched to his DNA. Fischer’s remains were flown back to Wisconsin from a military base in Hawaii where they had been for more than a decade.

CHIA VUE VANG was a native of Laos. Her husband served with the CIA during the Vietnam War, as did six of her sons. Meanwhile, she and her family hid in the jungles of Vietnam to avoid the Communists. When the Communists took over in 1975, Chia and her family fled to Thailand without money, medicine, or food. They eventually made their way to the United States.