Moving Wall stirs proud, but painful, memories

By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal Staff Writer

ROSEBUD -- Warrior songs echoed off the walls of Crazy Horse Canyon Monday, honoring four young men whose lives were cut short by the war in Vietnam.

Family and friends of Gabriel Two Eagle, Larry LaPointe, Ivan Noteboom and Roy Dean Russell gathered at Ghost Hawk Park to remember the Todd County boys, whose names are among the 58,229 inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Those same names are etched on the Moving Wall, a traveling half-size replica of the Washington memorial displayed at Ghost Hawk Park near Rosebud through the weekend (see accompanying story). The Moving Wall's visit is a project of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Veterans Affairs Office, headed by Orlando Morrison and Dennis Quigley.

A crowd of some 400 people, including Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., attended Monday's dedication ceremony. Relatives of the dead said it was fitting to gather here, since several of the fallen soldiers played at Ghost Hawk Park as children. A spruce tree was planted there in memory of each man.

"This here, it's good," said Leonard Two Eagle, who spoke about his older brother Gabriel, who died April 18, 1971, just a few months before he was to come home. "It's in our home Sicangu country, so that makes a difference."

For the families, 30 years hasn't erased the pain. That much was clear as relatives spoke with pride and pain about their loved ones.

Two Eagle said his brother wanted to enlist at 17, but their parents wanted him to stay in school. "Gabriel left before he graduated," he said, adding, "It's part of us to be warriors."

Gabriel was a traditional dancer. He loved horses and rodeo, both rough stock and roping events. He was learning to play guitar, and had sent home a tape of him playing and singing. Leonard learned of the tape just a few weeks ago. He played it Monday.

Gabriel's youthful voice, suspended in time in a tape made March 24, 1971, reached out into a different world. The words he sang lingered in the hot afternoon air: "Don't cry Daddy, Daddy please don't cry ..."

"We were all looking forward to him coming home," Two Eagle said. "But it was never meant to be."

Jim LaPointe spoke proudly of his late son, Larry LaPointe. He was an athlete, a football player, and a musician whose band practiced by playing in senior centers and orphanages in Denver, where the family moved after Larry was born.

Like his father, Larry was a radio operator. "I was looking forward for him and I to get together," LaPointe said. Instead, "We received word that he was missing in action on Valentine's Day 1968."

LaPointe's voice broke as he continued. Thirty-four years came rushing back. "Gene, can you help?" he said, asking Todd County American Legion Commander Gene Iron Shell to take over. Iron Shell did what a soldier does, stepping in to help where he was needed. He told how word came Feb. 17, 1968, that Larry LaPointe was killed in action.

Noting that war knows no racial boundaries, master of ceremonies Edward Charging Elk introduced Dean Noteboom, a brother of Ivan "Bud" Noteboom. Dean Noteboom was only in elementary school when Ivan, a medic, was killed. "He was a good brother to me," he said.

Charging Elk remembered his classmate, Roy Dean Russell, saying, "He always struck me as a person who swallowed a banana. He was always smiling ... I see Roy as still being there smiling, and saying, 'Thank you Rosebud, for remembering me.'"

Quigley said Roy was called to duty in 1970 and killed July 13, 1971, just five days after his 21st birthday. "I didn't know him, but I respect him and I honor him," he said, as he called on everyone there to do the same. "Every one of us need to stop today and think about what they (war veterans) have done for us."

Veterans' family members, both Indian and white, then joined in a Wiping of the Tears ceremony. They shared tobacco and water, then shook hands with dozens who offered their support and respects.

The day's events focused on remembering the dead, but visitors were also urged to remember the living. The dead made the ultimate sacrifice, speakers said, but Vietnam veterans who returned home broken and wounded also gave their all.

"I want you to remember those boys," said Tommy Roubideaux of Parmelee. He served five tours of duty in Vietnam, after an older man told him that new soldiers would only come home if they had experienced leaders to look out for them.

Veterans now homeless, addicted and mentally ill gave all they had, Roubideaux said. He said it was appropriate that the Moving Wall was set up in Crazy Horse Canyon, since Crazy Horse was also misunderstood and mistreated by his own people.

Roubideaux helped bring about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. He gave the benediction there in 1984, he said, but seeing the Moving Wall at Ghost Hawk Park was different.

"For the first time, it was like it hit me," he said. "This is home. It was kind of a cleansing thing."

The names of some of Roubideaux's dear friends are etched on the wall. Monday, he thought about them. But he also asked people to join him in remembering another group: the North Vietnamese soldiers they fought.

"As a warrior you must honor your enemy," he said, "because they have family too."

Comments or questions on this story? Call reporter Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419, or e-mail her at heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com.

This must have been one heck of a ceremony ShawneeD that was held at this 'spiritual' park.

I came across that moving wall approx 5 yrs ago. I was to meet a few other vets there, but somehow missed the connections, and made the mistake of going through the layout of that wall and it's war like surroundings, with tents, weapons, 'nam snapshots, and other items (including a live Vietnamese papa san in his country's wear) on a very hot and humid summer day. I flashed back badly.... only to leave that 'place' very upset and zoned out. It bothered me for many days after. I will probably never visit a 'wall' again.

I do think that the wall is a good thing for those who needs to relate to the mass loss of life in the way that it happened. One must also remember all the wounded and scared veterans along with those dead. One must also remember the same with the millions killed, wounded and scared in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos as well when sharing their grief at the 'wall'.

I am glad and proud that locals of the Crazy Horse Canyon area were able to share in their ceremonial respects to all who paid that ultimate price.

Good post ShawneeD

The first time I went to the Wall in DC I was amazed at it's intensity....the intensity drawn from the quiet.

I have had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Roubideaux and he is a quiet man 'walking a dusty path' [his words] who has given much for his country and still is Warrior. Like you, he came away from that time period with much wisdom, wisdom learned from battle.

I have respect for both of you, as well as all veterans, including my dad, for the experiences y'all went through. You sacrificed because it was the right thing to do and for that Honor and Gratitude are yours.