(WHAS11) For most people who have lost a loved one in the Vietnam War, they can only go to Washington D.C. to see their relative’s name on the Vietnam Wall.
But now, one local man has more than that.
Donnie Bartlett was many things to many people; a husband, brother, father and friend, but most of all he was a Black Hawk Fighter Pilot, who gave his life fighting for his country in the Vietnam War.
Donnie Bartlett, Junior never knew his father, who was killed before he was born and he said, “There has always been a void.”
After the war, Ken Carter’s father began engraving the names of American soldiers into many of the granite slabs that now stand at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.
Ken Carter found granite as a child; “It broke one of the stones on the way to the blaster and I kept a little piece, and he let me blast it and on that piece was “Rtlett” and we didn’t know at the time what that name was. But I’ve held onto that piece for 30 years wondering who that was.”
Saturday, he finally found out at a ceremony at Fort Knox honoring Black Hawk pilots, like Donnie Bartlett, who died for their country.
Carter said, “This has been a part of my life. Kind of like my hand. That little chunk of granite is a priceless family treasure and it’s interwoven into my life;” and a symbol of the life of Donnie Bartlett.
The piece of granite Ken Carter kept for 30 years is part of the original granite slab that held Donnie Bartlett’s name.
Saturday, Cater gave up the stone and treasure to the son of the man who died too soon. “I feel both sadness, because this has been a priceless treasure in my family for so long; I have carried it with me, but at the same time I feel just overwhelming peace that this belongs with this family.”
Donnie Bartlett, Junior said, “This was closure to me. This was closure and it’s something that I never thought I would have the chance to experience.”
Donnie Bartlett’s name is on the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C.
Donnie Bartlett, Junior has visited his father’s name there and says it was an emotional experience, but says the piece of granite he got today, means so much more.
