OUR TAKE – IT WAS A MISSION OF HEALING
Mon, 2007-11-12 08:54
There are times in our lives when we do good things simply because it’s right to do them.Turn back the clock to a time when the next season of drag racing was just around the corner. Evan Knoll, ensconced in a gliding chair, mulled over the various possible ways in which Melanie Troxel’s new dragster could be used to benefit various charities. Somewhere around 3 am, it came to us, Knoll and myself, how we could both help and honor a huge group of people who in a time long past felt more spit upon than welcomed.
An elaborate plan of featuring various charities was replaced with a plan to honor war veterans, especially the Vietnam veterans, because in our minds, they’d had to stand at the back of the honor line for far too long. We wanted to include the National League of POW-MIA Families because unfortunately, we’ve still got over 1,700 servicemen unaccounted and missing despite the war being over for 35 years.
Our focus decided I would place the first call to driver Melanie Troxel informing her of the game plan. Her response sounded as if she was confused. “Okaaaay,” she responded, adding that she would immerse himself in project having no real connection to the Vietnam War herself. Troxel was still a young impressionable child at the time the conflict came to a close.
The Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA Dragster was more than a tribute
There are times in our lives when we do good things simply because it’s right to do them.
Turn back the clock to a time when the next season of drag racing was
just around the corner. Evan Knoll, ensconced in a gliding chair,
mulled over the various possible ways in which Melanie Troxel’s new
dragster could be used to benefit various charities. Somewhere around 3
am, it came to us, Knoll and myself, how we could both help and honor a
huge group of people who in a time long past felt more spit upon than
welcomed.
Evan Knoll talks with Melanie Troxel and Vietnam vet Tom Hohmann.
Our focus decided I would place the first call to driver Melanie Troxel informing her of the game plan. Her response sounded as if she was confused. “Okaaaay,” she responded, adding that she would immerse himself in project having no real connection to the Vietnam War herself. Troxel was still a young impressionable child at the time the conflict came to a close.
To them, Vietnam would always remain in their memories, but tuning into ESPN2 during the weekends to see how Melanie did became something they needed to do. Even though she was very much a female, she became a brother-in-arms.
Generally the plan was met with approval, however at least one individual expressed serious reservations.
“Why would you want to open up those wounds? That was such a terrible time in our country. Most of the people in the sport aren’t old enough to remember what Vietnam was. I lost a lot of friends over there. Doing this will open up a lot of bad memories.”
Wounds have many ways of healing. Some say an open would never heals. But, fail to treat the wound and the subsequent scar can be just as painful.
The task of interfacing with veterans fell on my shoulders. I was to be the conduit between man and machine. The welcoming mat, if you please.
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The unveiling in Pomona was an emotional and nervous moment.
It was my general consensus Vietnam veterans would never talk about their experiences. Thankfully, that opinion was completely wrong. They want to talk; talk about being innocent kids who did what their country asked of them.
It was a point driven home the first time the car appeared at the racetrack.
Tom Hohmann was a Marine wounded in Vietnam.
The more Tom talked, the more I learned a Vietnam veteran was completely different from the traditional stereotype. He quickly pointed out there were many Vietnam veterans walking about in the Pomona crowd. These were vets walking about incognito, separate of those attending at our invitation.
Many of these guys were teenagers when they were exposed to the horrors of Vietnam. Many attended their first drag races to see the car in almost 40 years.
He was right. There were many times I watched that scenario play out as I waited for the invited group to arrive each Saturday morning for the what had become a traditional gathering of the veterans. We were allotted eight tickets for each event for veterans to attend the races.
What I discovered in that first event is that Hohmann and some of the other veterans hadn’t attended a drag race in almost forty years. I realized just how much drawing power this car had. We even had one guy at retirement age that had never attended a drag race in his life. He came just to see the dragster.
Once they returned to the track, they were indeed back. To them Vietnam would always remain in their memories, but tuning into ESPN2 during the weekends to see how Melanie did became something they needed to do. Even though she was very much a female, she became a brother-in-arms.
It was a bond created right from the start.
As the season progressed, Melanie transformed. She stepped past being just a national event-winning driver. She became an informed spokesperson for the cause. Evan couldn’t have asked for a better person to convey his program than her.
I know it’s a popular thing to be behind the troops today. I realize that in your time it wasn’t a popular thing. I think as time has passed, this country has healed. While we can’t change what happened then. Today, we can provide a small semblance of gratitude for your unselfish service. I want you to know that we appreciate what you did for us. - Melanie Troxel
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Ann Mills-Griffiths and Karen McManus became dear friends of mine and my heart goes out to them because they lost siblings and no one in our government can tell them what happened much less where they are.
“I know it’s a popular thing to be behind the troops today,” Troxel said. “I realize that in your time it wasn’t a popular thing. I think as time has passed, this country has healed. While we can’t change what happened then. Today, we can provide a small semblance of gratitude for your unselfish service. I want you to know that we appreciate what you did for us.”
Following Troxel’s comments, RFC chaplain Larry Smiley would lead the group in a prayer of healing. One thing that may not be common knowledge is that our race pastor is also a Vietnam veteran who was spat on upon returning to the U.S. So was our Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com photo editor Roger Richards at the airport in Oakland, Ca., in 1972. Richards was there virtually every weekend to record the camaraderie between veteran and racer.
The program started strong, building each week upon the successes of the previous week.
Then came the acts of gratitude.
Evan was honored with a miniature replica of the POW-MIA statue in Riverside, Ca., by Steve Mackey and a group of veterans in attendance at the Pomona event. The gifts were given from the heart to Evan and don’t think for a moment that he didn’t appreciate them. He and the team received a number of flags and other gifts throughout the year, each treasured no less than the rest.
At the wall with Judie Taber, whose brother, James B. Mills, was shot down during the early stages of the Vietnam War and hasn't been found yet.
A few gifts were bestowed to me, mostly pins and shirts from veterans, and even a boonie hat, worn by Craig Tonjes in Gainesville. That hat became a landing place for all the pins I attained. The very first pin? That came from my buddy Mr. Hohmann and it represented his company.
‘I want you to wear this proudly on your Melanie Troxel hat,” Tom said, with his trademark grin.
The reason he grinned is because an hour earlier, he and other veterans had purchased the new hats only to discover the tag on the inside read, “Made in Vietnam.” Before the dragster, he might have reacted differently.
Hohmann’s pin was the first of so many that it became apparent that I’d need a Hahn’s device just to wear the boonie. Over the course of the year my collection grew including everything from Special Forces to the Vietcong Hunting Club to Medivac.
I learned a lot from these guys and became proficient with their terminology. Did you know, “I’ve got your 6 -- means I’ve got your back?”
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On a cold Saturday morning in Gainesville, I was presented the boonie hat worn my Craig Tonjes -- back row, second from left. That hat, which he wore in Vietnam, is now adorned with many company pins of those who have attended the drags.
I got close to some of those guys, pretty much the same way they got close to one another in the battlefield.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the special bond that I created with the National League of Families and their leadership. Ann Mills-Griffiths and Karen McManus became dear friends of mine and my heart goes out to them because they lost siblings and no one in our government can tell them what happened much less where they are.
The Joliet event had a large gathering of veterans, including the Rolling Thunder group.
One of the names hit hard -- Thomas Bennett, missing since December 22, 1972, ironically, the same name worn proudly by my eldest son.
A lot of good came from a year of honoring Vietnam Vets. They might have always been there, but it just seems like one is more likely to see more Vietnam Veteran hats proudly displayed throughout the pits.
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Tim Lewis, a Vietnam veteran and Top Fuel team owner, made an unselfish donation to ensure that each veteran left with a special gift commemorating the car.
That’s why when I found out that Melanie was headed over to the Funny Car ranks it disappointed me that we were down to the end of the tour. But, we had served our purpose and that was to bring honor and respect to a group of life-wearied veterans who had largely known disrespect. They had something to smile for – mission accomplished.
Tom caught up with me at the Finals in Pomona and wanted to convey a message to Evan.
As his eyes welled up with tears, “I want you to tell Evan just how much this means to all of us. Please tell him, I want him to know this made a difference in many of us.”
I haven’t gotten a chance to tell Evan yet, I figure I can tell him just as well with this article.
I got an email that same evening from Evan, with a rendering of Melanie’s 2008 racecar, and just like Tom in 1967, he’s signing up for second tour of duty. The new car will understandably feature his Torco Race Fuels logo but will also be emblazoned with the American flag as well as the POW-MIA logo. But most importantly, it will feature a portion of the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
I’m on board for a second tour as well and it’s largely thanks to my buddy Tom and the hundreds of veterans I met throughout this first tour.
“I would have been honored to serve alongside of you,” Tom told me. “I would have always had your 6, because I know you would have had mine. I would have gladly shared a foxhole with you.”
Tom, I would have gladly shared one with you, too.
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