Thanks to the work of a North Forsyth County woman, the face of a Cumming man killed in Vietnam is being immortalized along with his name
The woman is Teresa Ford, a single mom who has home schooled her five children, works a couple of part time jobs and still finds time to volunteer for a unique photographic challenge. She and other volunteers around the country are hoping to find photos for every one of the 58,318 service members who died in Vietnam.
Ford has been involved in the “Wall of Faces” project for a couple of years. It was started by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the organization which built the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. The “Faces” project hopes to link a face and a story to each one of the people on the wall. Around 4,000 photos are still being sought.
Ford’s focus is on Georgians killed in Vietnam and there are still photos missing for 381 Georgians – that haunts her and drives her volunteer work taking her to libraries, school offices and other record repositories to do her research
Recently, with the help of the Cumming Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter, Ford was able to connect with Marsha Gazaway whose brother, Army Sgt. Charlie Gazaway, was killed-in-action in Vietnam in March 1971. Until Ford got involved, the memorial didn’t have a photo of Sgt. Gazaway to post on its website. Marsha Gazaway, who still resides in Cumming, said she didn’t even know there was a photo wall, so she would never have thought to submit one. Now, that Charlie is on the wall Marsha is delighted.
Teresa, who has played a role in locating four photos (one from Forsyth County and three from Habersham County) is confident all will be found. If you served in Vietnam with someone who is on the wall, or know someone who died in Vietnam she asks you to check the “Wall of Faces” website (www.vvmf.org/wall of faces) to see if that person’s photo is there, if not and you have one, you can upload it or contact her for help. Her email is teresaford3665@gmail.com.
One thing is certain; a visit to this photo wall will strike you with the sheer numbers of very young service members who never returned from the Vietnam War. As the memorial fund website says, “The wall was built on the promise to never forget.” We can be thankful that Teresa’s efforts are helping to ensure that promise is fulfilled.
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