Vietname Vette

CASEY RESSLER

Frontiersman Valley Life Editor

There are a lot of Vietnam vets in the Valley, but there is only one Vietnam Vette.

Palmer's Stan Roach has taken a 1984 Corvette and turned it into the Vietnam Vette - a tribute to veterans who fought in Vietnam, which Roach did for 14 months as a member of the 1st Marines Division, as well as pay homage to those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. The Corvette is also a testament to God - Roach is a pastor, and the project is a ministry of his church, the Independent Baptist Church of Anchorage.

"We've had the car for about two years, but we just got done turning it into the Vietnam Vette," Roach said.

The elaborate paint job was done by Perry Cowles of Vital Signs in Wasilla. The fenders are painted blue with white stars, which fade to red and white stripes down the side of the car.

A picture of the Twin Towers is on the hood, with jets coming in from both sides.

There is a gold cross inlayed in the hood as well, along with the inscription, "Proverbs 27:1," which reads, "Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth."

Roach's son is currently taking the Vietnam Vette to the Lower 48, where it will appear at several functions, Roach said.

Roach has had the vehicle on display at several community events, and at an Eagle River car show.

The car has a special trailer with a picture of the vehicle on the side, as well as the mission of the project.

On the back of the trailer, a painted message tells motorists of Roach's "Mercenary to Missionary" life, "As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free."

"Later this summer we are going to reupholster the inside, and have the Vietnam veterans ribbon put in the head rests," Roach said.

The Corvette will be in a parade in West Virginia, but the biggest reason Roach shipped it south is for the first Operation Homecoming USA, scheduled for June 13-19 in Branson, Mo.

The $15 million event is being funded by H. Ross Perot, a 1953 Annapolis grad and a longtime supporter of the POW/MIA causes. Organizers are hoping for 100,000 Vietnam veterans to show up at the event.

"It's the first welcome-party, 30 years after we came home," Roach said. "They're expecting quite a few Vietnam veterans down there. I hope they like the car."

The event is officially being billed as, "the homecoming you never received."

The Corvette will be on display during the event. In addition, many of the bands that played at USO shows in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War will be playing, including the Doobie Brothers, the Beach Boys and Tony Orlando.

Also appearing will be Adrian Cronauer, the radio DJ who was the main subject in the Robin Williams movie, "Good Morning Vietnam."

Active-duty troops stationed in Baghdad are also planning to thank Vietnam veterans via a live video feed.

"These men were never properly recognized and thanked when they came home," Perot told Newsweek Magazine in late April. "I love what we're doing now [for the Iraq war vets], properly thanking them in the airport and homecomings. But here we've got a huge number of men who fought a huge, ugly war [in Vietnam] and we never said thanks. It's about time we do."

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the airlifting of the last Americans out of Saigon.