The Wall That Heals is a three-fourths scale Vietnam Wall Replica, which the Dorchester Heritage Center will host from Oct. 17-20.
Of some 58,000 soldiers who gave their lives during the Vietnam War, 18 lived in Dorchester County. As Memorial Day approaches, the Dorchester Heritage Center invites people to remember a native son of St. George, Clement Bradley Gruber Sr.
Known by his family as “Bradley,” he was killed in action on March 8, 1968, just shy of his 21st birthday.
Gruber was born April 3, 1947, to Owen “Jack” Clement Gruber and Emma Lee Walters Gruber. He was the oldest of four children, Bradley, Patricia, Greg and Deborah Jean, growing up on a large farm in St. George.
Gruber helped his father on the farm even after he graduated from St. George High School in 1965. In 1966, he married Pattie Weeks, and together they had a son, Clement Bradley Gruber Jr., born Nov. 28, 1967.
In 1967, Bradley was drafted into the Army and sent to Ft. Jackson for basic training and further training at Ft. Gordon.
On Aug. 23, 1967, he was deployed to Vietnam as a heavy vehicle driver with the 1st Logistical Command, 446th Transportation Company, and started his tour of duty.
While serving in Da Nang, Gruber was issued a truck that he dearly loved. He wrote home about his truck and how he could drive it very fast in reverse — pictures were taken for proof. While on tour, Gruber was asked to use his truck and fill it with sandbags. He did not want to do this, so he volunteered to go on patrol with his unit.
On March 8, 1968, while on patrol in the Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, his unit took on heavy fire, and eight men were killed, including Gruber. They were only a few miles from the DMZ.
Back home in St. George, where everyone knew everyone, two military officers came looking for the Gruber home. Local people saw them at the country store asking for directions and figured out exactly why they were there. As they approached Gruber’s parents’ house, his mother was home alone. A friend hurried over on horseback after seeing the men in town.
When Mrs. Emma Lee looked through the window and saw the two men in uniform, she froze. She waited for her friend to approach before she opened the door. They were told that Gruber was missing in action. The news spread like wildfire. His sister and brother were leaving St. George when a friend asked if they had heard the news. When they arrived home, vehicles lined the street as neighbors came in support.
One week later, the Army officials came back to tell the family that Gruber was gone. The Army knew all along that he had been killed even though they were first told he was missing in action. The family was told that he was carried to the hospital, where he was operated on but died from his wounds. One week later, his body was sent home. Services were held, and Gruber was laid to rest in the UDC Cemetery in St. George. Gruber’s name is inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., on panel 43E, Line 54.
A few weeks after his death, the family received a letter from Gruber. The letter was filled with excitement. He had received his orders that he would be stationed at Ft. Stewart when he returned home and spend some time there for training. Gruber was elated and said he had only 20 more days on tour. Like many others whose lives were cut short in their prime, those dreams were left unfulfilled.
Sadly, stories like this were repeated by 17 others in Dorchester County. The Dorchester Heritage Center honors all those who lost their lives in the service of our country.
Dorchester County’s Vietnam War Lost, but not forgotten:
- Donald R. Bair
- Jack W. Brasington
- Chris Brown Jr.
- Jerry T. Driggers
- William Ellis Jr.
- Clement B. Gruber
- Vertis J. Hill
- William Jenkins
- Thomas W. Poore
- Gary K. Roberts
- Hilbert M. Singletary Jr.
- Joseph O. Strickland
- Larry Villanueva
- Clarence L. Way
- John L. Hines
- William T. Smith
- James H. Villeponteaux Jr.
The Wall That Heals will be located on the future Dorchester Heritage Museum and Archive Center building site at 964 Hwy. 78 in Ridgeville.
This presentation of The Wall That Heals will be open and free to the public. The Wall That Heals will also include:
- A Mobile Education Center that presents the history of the Vietnam War.
- The history of the monument.
- A video presentation of those lost in Vietnam in Dorchester and surrounding counties.
The Dorchester Heritage Center needs help. To volunteer for the Wall That Heals, visit dorchesterheritagecenter.com and click on the link. For questions or more information, call 843-931-1021.
