People passing by Memorial Park on the Clemson University campus Friday morning June 3, 2022, might have seen what looked like a typical group of visitors getting a tour of the carefully manicured grounds that sit directly across from Memorial Stadium. A cluster of grandfatherly men, some using walkers, most flanked by their wives or other family members, followed attentively as their tour guide walked them through the thoughtfully layered symbolism of the park, which was designed to honor Clemson Alumni who died while serving their country in the military.
This was far from a typical tour group, however, because the men at the center of it all survived being prisoners of war in Vietnam. The visit was part of the Vietnam POWs Return to Freedom 49th Anniversary Reunion, organized by the Vietnam POW Reunion Foundation and NAMPOW, the national organization of former Vietnam POWs.
