N.J. Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Sends Holiday Greetings to Jersey's Deployed Military using 1969 Paper Scroll Idea

By Kelly Watts, executive director, N.J. Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Foundation

In December 1969, paper “scrolls” were circulated throughout all public and private schools in Carteret, N.J. Students, teachers, administrators and town residents wrote messages to the men and women serving in Vietnam. The individual scrolls were taped together to make one giant greeting. On December 20, 1969, the scrolls were mailed to Gary C. Landa (U.S. Army) of Carteret, who was stationed in Vietnam. Upon leaving Vietnam, Landa carried the scrolls home with him. His family held onto the scrolls for over 30 years before turning them over for display at the Vietnam Era Educational Center in Holmdel, N.J. (Exit 116 off the Garden State Parkway).

On December 10, 2001, the family of Gary C. Landa met with 120 students of Long Valley Middle School in Morris County, who visited the Center to affix their signatures and messages to new scrolls. In addition to the Long Valley students, hundreds of visitors to the Educational Center have written messages on the scrolls throughout the months of November and December. These scrolls were then sent to New Jersey National Guardsmen in time for the holiday.

“Due to increased security issues this year, generic greeting cards could not be sent to service personnel without a specific name and address,” said Kelly Watts, executive director of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation. “Faced with the dilemma of how to communicate holiday wishes, we returned to the past – what worked in 1969 still works in 2001. We were thrilled to have so many people participate in this project."