Vietnam

THE 646 service members started their lives, careers and families in the "city of neighborhoods," but they were never able to return from the Vietnam War. Twelve years after the war ended in 1975, a group of 10 Vietnam veterans, known as the "Last Patrol," trekked from Washington, D.C., to the city, carrying the names of all the 646 Philadelphians who lost their lives in Vietnam. The Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial will celebrate the trek's 25th anniversary this weekend.

Salute to Vietnam veterans Last year my wife bought me a baseball cap that reads "Vietnam Veteran," and I began to wear it, at first with apprehension. Two weeks ago, we were at a craft fair in Morgantown, and I was wearing my Vietnam Veteran cap. Three small children came up to me and asked to shake my hand, and they thanked me for my service in Vietnam. Two were girls, who kissed me and said thank you, and the boy shook my hand and also said thank you. I looked up and saw their mother standing there.

Let me introduce you to a few people, courtesy of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Daily News. Rowland J. Adamoli, of Germantown, played football and soccer. He was an apprentice bricklayer who loved country music. He joined the Marines in 1961, and earned his high school diploma while serving. As things were heating up in Vietnam, he extended his enlistment so he'd be eligible for a tour there. "He was kind of a daring boy," his sister would say later. Cpl. Adamoli, an amphibious tractor crew chief, was killed on Aug. 18, 1965, one of the first Marines from Philadelphia to die in Vietnam.

THE TASK is going to be a hard one, but if anyone's up for it, it's these guys. Members of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund are trying to obtain photos of the 646 local soldiers who died in 'Nam, and whose names are on display at the shrine at Front and Spruce streets. The goal, said memorial-fund president Terry Williamson, is to ultimately install a kiosk on the grounds of the memorial that would allow visitors to see photos and read biographical information about each soldier who lost his life in the war. A similar effort to collect photos of soldiers who were killed in Vietnam is under way in Washington, D.C., where officials are planning to build a visitor's center and education facility near the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Colombia, rebels sign pact on talks BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombia and its main leftist rebel group said Tuesday that they have signed an accord to launch peace talks next month aimed at ending a stubborn, half-century-old conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. In a televised speech, President Juan Manuel Santos called the pact a road map to "a definitive peace. " It was reached after six months of direct talks in Cuba, with that country's government and Norway serving as brokers following a year and a half of preparatory work.

For months, the 10-year-old had been harassing the 51-year-old immigrant from Vietnam, who was living alone in a small room in Juniata Park. According to her landlords, the boy would call her names, making fun of her for being "dumb and fat. " On Monday, police said, the boy took his torment to a new level when he broke into the woman's home and beat her with sticks, stones, and a jump rope. The boy, whose name was withheld by police because he is a minor, had two accomplices, believed to be between 7 and 9. "To have such a young offender committing such a violent crime - it's almost a shock to my system," Police Capt.

DANANG, Vietnam - For the first time since the Vietnam War, the United States will begin cleaning up dioxin left from the defoliant Agent Orange at a former U.S. air base. A U.S. Embassy official said the $43 million joint U.S.-Vietnamese project would begin Thursday at Danang airport, site of the former base in central Vietnam. U.S. planes sprayed Agent Orange during the Vietnam War to eliminate enemy jungle cover. Dioxin lingers in soil and watersheds for generations and has been linked to cancer, birth defects, and other disabilities.

TWO SKATEBOARDERS have been charged with causing more than $3,000 in damage to the city's Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is at Front and Spruce streets. Marcus Lee-Calloway, 18, and Kyle Thorpe, 25, were arrested June 21 and charged with institutional vandalism, criminal conspiracy and possession of an instrument of crime. Their preliminary hearing is set for July 17. A memorial caretaker was attempting to escort the two men out of the area, but they refused to cooperate — one began to walk down Front Street while the other argued with the caretaker, said police Capt.

CAM RANH BAY, Vietnam - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta used a visit Sunday to Vietnam to make clear Washington's intent to aid allies in the Asia-Pacific region develop and enforce maritime rights in the South China Sea, which Beijing largely claims. On a historic stop in Cam Ranh Bay, the strategic deep water port that was a U.S. base during the Vietnam War, Panetta could gaze out from the flight deck of the USNS Richard E. Byrd toward the sea and reflect on the significance of the harbor, which represents both a painful past for the American military and a challenging but hopeful future.

CANNES, France — After the success of Bridesmaids, the actor Chris O'Dowd was mostly getting scripts for mediocre romantic comedies — "bad versions of Bridesmaids," he says. "I figured I should go and do something very different, otherwise I'll kind of get stuck," O'Dowd said in an interview at the Cannes Film Festival this week. "So an Aboriginal musical made sense. " And that could well be the first time such a sentence has been uttered. In the genre of Aboriginal musicals there is but one entry: The Sapphires, which premiered in Cannes to a lengthy standing ovation and eager debate over whether it was this year's out-of-left-field success story at the festival.