By Jay Turner, The Canton Citizen
From his return to civilian life in 1968 until his death last May, William “Ginty” Wiederhold made the most of what he had and gave his all to his family and community — a stark contrast to the stereotypes often attached to Vietnam veterans.
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William Wiederhold’s daughter Audrey and his grandson Kevin (Courtesy of Stockus Photography) |
The same, it seems, could be said of his younger brother Paul, a former Army sergeant and Bronze Star recipient who served in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne.
Just two years apart, the two brothers would go on to lead parallel lives in their hometown of Canton. They both raised daughters and both were electricians — Ginty for IBEW Local 103 and Paul as the longtime owner of Canton Electric. Both joined the American Legion and both were proud of their service records and remained committed to their country. And both, sadly, died young — Paul of lung cancer at age 59 and Ginty of heart disease five years later at age 67.
Today, there is little dispute as to the cause of either brother’s death: a blend of tactical herbicides known to most Americans as “Agent Orange.” Used by the U.S. military throughout the Vietnam War to defoliate forested land and destroy enemy cover, Agent Orange is now known to have been contaminated with toxic dioxin compounds and has since been linked with a variety of human illnesses — including skin diseases and cancers of the lungs, larynx and prostate.
“There was a big battle in Washington over Agent Orange, long after even the [Vietnam Memorial] wall was put together,” recalled Canton Veterans Agent Tony Andreotti, who has emerged as a passionate advocate for Vietnam veterans since taking over the post in 1999. “Eventually they realized that we’re losing too many young people 25 and 30 years after the war, and all of them had stepped foot in Vietnam.”
A few years ago, Andreotti used proceeds from the Canton Veterans Fund to have a bench installed at Veterans Memorial Park to honor those residents who died prematurely after serving in Vietnam, and it did not take long for the bench to begin filling up with plaques. The 10th plaque — honoring Ginty Wiederhold — was added just last month.
“For a small town, that’s quite a number,” noted Andreotti, who knew most of the men personally and helped many of them and their spouses file for disability compensation.
Andreotti said he usually honors each new addition on Memorial Day, reading the name and presenting flowers to the surviving family members, but he chose to hold a small, separate ceremony for the Wiederhold family after they lost a second loved one in the span of five years.
“I thought, after putting the second brother on there, that it was a little unique and it deserved more attention,” he said.
Ginty’s daughter Becky said she spoke for the whole family in describing the ceremony as a “true honor.”
Read the
full story by Jay Turner of the Canton Citizen.