Photos of Hi-Line Vietnam dead sought

Janna Hoehn is a woman with a cause.

She wants to get the picture of every fallen U.S. veteran from the Vietnam War for "Faces Not Forgotten," a Washington, D.C., project associated with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

To that end, she is calling newspapers throughout the West from her home in Maui, Hawaii, to see if they will help spread the word.

She became interested in the project after visiting the Wall with her husband. She was in high school during the war, and says she knew no one who was killed in the war.

But the Wall moved her and she later befriended Jan Scruggs, the founder and president of the Vietnam Wall, She agreed to Scruggs' request to search Maui to see if she could find photos of any of those killed in action.

"I have always hoped I could to do something for the Vietnam veterans because of the way they were treated when they returned," she said. "Here was my chance.

"What I thought would be a very easy project with Maui being so small ..." she added

Hoehn checked phone books and started calling people of the same name if they knew of the deceased. She checked obituaries and high school yearbooks to see they could point her in the right direction. Finally, the Maui News did a front-page story that attracted a lot of attention.

Eventually, she found photos of all 42 military personnel from Maui who died. She set up a display that she took to schools, libraries and civic groups. It was well received.

And she was hooked.

She then started searching for photos in her home county and then the rest of California. Then she went to Oregon and Washington. Now, she's looking in Montana.

Hoehn and other volunteers have collected 39,500 photos of and information on the 58,300 Americans who died in Vietnam. She has collected 1,200 photos herself.

She has now set her sights on the Hi-Line, a particularly meaningful area for her, since her husband was born in Havre and raised in Chinook, though he left a half century ago not to return.

She hopes Hi-Line people can help with some information on any of the fighting men. She said friends, relatives or classmates of the military personnel are urged to get in touch with her.

She'd like their photos, but if people don't have photos, they can send any information they can get - including information on what school or college they attended.

And if anyone would like to volunteer to help in the search for remaining photos, she would be most appreciative.

People who can offer any help are urged to contact Janna Hoehn at [email protected].

The photos will be on display at the education center that will be built adjacent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. They will also be on "Faces of the Wall," an online memorial at http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/search/results/start/298/HOME_ST_RC/MI.

"Putting a face with a name changes the whole dynamic of the Wall. It keeps our fallen heroes' memories alive and will honor them. Our heroes' stories and sacrifice will never be forgotten," Hoehn said.

Here are the names of deceased Hi-Line military personnel Janna Hoehn would let to get photos of:

• Charles W. Han, 1946-1968, Inverness

• Louis G. Healy, 1949-1968, Dodson

• Mark G. Hinkle, 1945-1965, Havre

• Stanley W. Salyer, 1941-1966, Havre

• Larry E. Schwarz, 1948-1968, Malta

• Peter M. Stengem, 1947-1969, Havre

• Vernon E. Whetham, 1942-1967, Glasgow

• Paul G. Weigand, 1945-1966, Dodson

Anyone with photos of these people - or any information that could lead her in the right direction is urged to contact Janna Hoehn at [email protected].

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall already has photos of other Hi-Line residents who died in the war.