Dear Ms. Kaptur,

Thank you for your support of my godfather Bernie Berry. And for coming to present him The Silver Rose Award personally. I want to also thank Mr. Foot for coming to honor him at the funeral. I had the honor of seeing my Uncle Bernie present Mr. Foot with the Silver Rose also. You see Bernie Berry was much more than just a godfather to my sister and I. He was the pillar in our lives. He was our dad in every sense of the word. As an adult I have looked back and I marvel at what a wonderful man he was. Even though he was locked in his own private hell from Vietnam he was always smiling, never once putting himself before his four girls (His wife Linda, daughter Angie, my sister Ginger, and myself). He is the one who taught us the true meaning of unconditional love and unwavering strength. He was and always will be my hero. I write to you now because at the age of thirty-three I am struggling to understand and learn about The Vietnam War. As a parent of two I am also very angry that my children still to this day will not learn about Vietnam in school. I so believe this is another injustice to all Vietnam Veterans. As our children grow and have children and their children have children just who is going to teach them. Not about just the war but also the long lasting effects of the Agent Orange, PTSD, ect. for God knows how many generations to come. I fear that The Vietnam War and all the many men and women who served our country when called upon will be forgotten totally someday, when there is no longer anyone around to teach them about what happened. My Uncle Bernie and all of his fellow comrades deserve more than that. I know his hell was here on earth from the day he stepped foot in Vietnam and he was never able to escape that hell. The many men and women who died there, and the countless numbers who are continuing to die now from our government using them as guinea pigs. I am so very angry and blame the United States Government for his death. And I am pleading with you to please help get The Vietnam War into our children's history books. The time is long past that our men and women be remembered and honored for all they gave and not to be disrespected, dishonored, or forgotten any longer. I believe that every child should be taught just what our Veterans sacrificed and for so many continue to sacrifice for answering their call to duty. To know the truth about war, the real truth. Thank you for your time, I hope to hear back from you soon even if you can just point me in the direction I need to go. I have included the link to the website I am working on also.

Sincerely,
Jacqueline LaVoy
In Loving Memory of Bernie Berry
         ~Never Forget~