Memorial to a Young Soldier
Originally uploaded by david_lewicki.
Walking down West 10th Street in Greenwich Village this weekend, I noticed a plaque at the bottom of a lovely street tree. I bent down to read it.
Leonard Seelig, 21. Plaque and tree placed in his memory by the Tenth Street Residents Against the War in Vietnam.
I actually cried when I saw this.
I cried for a young man whose life ended at 21, in a land and amidst a people far from this leafy street and the familiar families in these brownstones.
I cried for the sweetness in the act of remembering by a community who mourned the loss of their son.
And I cried for the bittersweetness that there once was a group called "Tenth Street Residents Against the War in Vietnam." Today, this street is one of the gems of the village. Pristine. Beautiful. The homes there must cost in the millions.
Do they still organize? Are they still united against the brutal child sacrifice of war?
Or have they lost the burning conviction that a small group of residents can join together to form a collective voice? Are the residents of today's 10th Street just like me: detached, isolated, frustrated, feeling powerless to do anything to stop the machinery of war?
I don't know what the Tenth Street Residents ever did to oppose the Vietnam War. I don't know if they petitioned Congress, marched on Washington, burned draft cards.
I do know that they remembered one of their own. And grieved him. And planted a tree in his memory.
And that that small act caused a ripple in my own life.
Not that you need another project with a baby on the way, but I'll bet that a lot of yesterday's Tenth Street resident's are still on the block or in the area. It might be a nice idea to find out whatever happened to this organization. Having gone to elementary school in the village (run by ex-hippies), I know that people don't just stop being active. I'm friends with a lot of elderly people in my neighborhood, who lost brothers, friends, and sons in various wars, and know that these are some of the most outspoken and fervent opponents of the war in Iraq. They've got time on the hands and a long memory, so there's a fairly good chance that if there are any old timers around where you are, they're busy. A good way to track them down would be to check out the local democratic club or simply ask any older person that looks familiar, someone you see sitting on a stoop, etc. If anything, you might not crack this mystery but you might discover a neighbor.
ReplyDeleteI came here via Google after walking by that little plaque today and getting curious. Couple things I found elsewhere on the net: He was actually 41 (born 1930, not 1950), and he wasn't a soldier but a union organizer and opposed to the war. He died in a car accident, and his neighbors put up this plaque in his honor. Just thought you might be interested (though it was years ago that you posted...)
ReplyDeleteCan I just say how much I love the internet for making this connection possible?
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