Prison inmates, staff help set up memorial wall

Inmates "all veterans" also raise money for wall effort

April 2, 2008

Eastern Arizona Courier

By Diane Saunders
Staff Writer

Hilman Moffett is a U.S. Navy veteran who served two tours in Vietnam. He is also one of 17 Arizona State Prison-Safford inmates who volunteered to help put up the American Veterans Traveling Tribute wall in Firth Park on Saturday.

Inmates from the Arizona State Prison-Safford assist in unloading the truck and setting up the American Veterans Traveling Tribute. Photo by Diane Saunders

The wall is 80 percent of the size of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., and bears the names of all 58,000 U.S. soldiers who died in Vietnam. The wall, which may be viewed around the clock, will remain in Firth Park through April 6. Admission is free.

Moffett talked about one tour of duty on the USS Repose, a hospital ship that treated wounded soldiers.

“We were in the demilitarized zone,” he said. “We had a lot of injuries.”

The ship treated U.S. service members who were suffering from mental stress and physical injuries and illnesses. It was no easy task to provide medical care in a war zone.

“They (North Vietnamese) tried to blow up the hospital ship once. That got a lot of excitement, even from the doctors,” Moffett said.

Moffett said he and fellow inmates often volunteer for projects in Safford as a way to give back to the community.

“Now (Saturday) is a time we get to serve the community, which is what we all want to do,” Moffett said, adding that he looks forward to working on community projects.

Robert Miller of the warden’s office said all 17 inmate volunteers have served in the military, and none of them will receive any type of compensation for working on the memorial wall.

In addition to the 17 volunteers, another 129 inmates participated in a fund-raiser and collected $1,500 to help defray the costs of bringing the memorial wall to Safford.

Several prison staff members also participated in the effort to bring the wall to Safford. They distributed flyers about the event, and several rode their motorcycles as part of the escort from the New Mexico/ Arizona line to Safford. Others drove support vehicles equipped with items that could be used to repair a motorcycle, Miller said.

The inmate volunteers will return to Firth Park on Sunday to help dismantle the wall after the exhibit closes.