RIVERTON, Utah — Whether they had a personal connection to the day or were just coming to watch, members of the Riverton community know firsthand the importance of Memorial Day, including Vietnam veteran Larry Banks.
“I got my draft notice while I was on a USO tour,” he said. "They were training everybody in infantry to send us to Vietnam, and I was scared.”
Banks’ story is a unique one.
“I won an army entertainment contest, the All Pacific, and so the army changed my job to O3 Bravo, which is an entertainment specialist,” he said. "I was lucky that I didn't carry an M-16 — I carried my guitar.”
However, having that guitar didn’t protect him from the horror he would face.
“I went to Vietnam anyway, flew into the jungles and performed for soldiers and saw sights that I'll never forget,” Banks said while getting choked up. "Literally 50-60 black bags of soldiers getting ready to fly home.”
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Banks found comfort in someone who shares his same passion: music.
Musician Andrea Sharp sang the national anthem at Monday’s program. She and Banks are a dynamic duo. They perform together all over Utah.
“When we do the American songs, we'll say, 'Are there any veterans?' and he's still standing, and he's still playing, and he still brings that energy,” Sharp said.
This is where Banks takes his sadness and puts it into music.
“I had a chance to play at West Jordan High School,” Banks said. "All I could think of was, there's 2,000 high schoolers clapping for a veteran playing the guitar, and I remember that they have the freedom to do whatever they want to do because of people that have served.”
Almost everyone had someone they thought of during Monday’s Memorial Day program.
“My late grandfather served in Korea, but he's buried in Maryland… I always think about the things that he did for me,” said Riverton resident Nathan Robertson. “I miss him every day.”
But on days like this one, Banks thinks of the list of names etched in stone in Washington, D.C.
“There are soldiers on that wall that I trained with,” he said. "We can't forget what it's like to protect our freedoms. We just can’t.”
