Last month, the Carbon County Veterans Association celebrated the annual veteran and nonveteran banquet, honoringStephen Vlossak and Todd Wentz.

Each organization from the association nominated a candidate, with Palmerton Legion Post 269 and VFW Post 7134 entering Vlossak and Wentz.Both men were integral in the The Moving Wall, the Vietnam memorial which drew almost 15,000 visitors to the borough park in July.Vlossak, who served a year in Vietnam, was cited for his work in getting the wall to Palmerton, in addition to setting up and tearing down the structure."I was there every day for that," Vlossak said. "All of our community was there, from the planning until the end."He also delivered a moving speech at the wall's opening ceremony."I wasn't in Vietnam, but I had a tear in my eye. It was emotional. Most of the fellows were the same way," VFW Post Commander Ed Moyer said.The most touching part of Vlossak's address was a very simple, but incredibly moving greeting."I had a couple of Vietnam vets who came up to me and said, 'No one ever welcomed us home before.' They really appreciated that," Vlossak said.Wentz was nominated for the time, equipment and materials that he donated to help construct the Veterans Memorial in the park, and for the hours he spent setting up and breaking down the foundation of The Moving Wall.When Moyer extended the invitation for the banquet to Wentz, he was reticent to attend. Even when he got to the event, Wentz maintained a very humble outlook."He didn't want anything to do with this," Moyer said. "He said, 'I don't do this to get a pat on the back or my picture in the paper. I do this because I enjoy helping the veterans.' "Vlossak's outlook on the award can also be applied to the concept of participation in the armed services. It also serves as a reminder of the importance of Veterans Day."They're all a great bunch of guys, and we did it for the good of doing it. We're not looking for any recognition or anything."