North Wales man finds brother on memorial ‘Wall That Heals’

A traveling exhibit of a Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica has helped area families heal wounds from decades ago.

“My neighbor across the street, I’ve known since we were three, and we’re going to be 75 this year. His name is Michael Molettiere, and his brother Joseph was killed in Vietnam,” said Sandy Paulsen of North Wales.

    North Wales councilwoman Sally Neiderhiser, left, and Mayor Neil McDevitt, fourth from left, pose with Dave Robison, Lisa Molettiere and Lydia Robison at ‘The Wall That Heals,’ a replica Vietnam War memorial honoring veterans including Lisa’s father Joe Molettiere, who was killed in action in 1968. (Photo courtesy of Sandy Paulson)
  

Readers of The Reporter may recall Joseph’s story: a native of North Wales, Joseph grew up on Ninth Street and attended St. Rose of Lima, Pennfield Middle School and North Penn High School, before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps despite pleas from his father Frank, owner of a local grocery store, to join the Navy instead. On February 5, 1968, Joseph held the rank of lance corporal in the Marines when he died in fighting after seven-and-a-half months of service in Vietnam at the age of 18, according to Reporter archives.

Fast forward to 2025. Joseph’s brother Michael still lives in the area, and is unable to travel long distance due to health issues, but was able to visit The Wall That Heals, a three‑quarter‑scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that was escorted through the area earlier this month before going on display in Montgomery Township.

“We knew he would never get to go to Washington, for the memorial or the wall there. So when we saw it was coming here, my husband — who was also in Vietnam — called him and said ‘Would you like to go?’ And he said yes,” Sandy said.

“We took him, and found his brother’s name on the wall, and I got a picture of Michael pointing at the wall. It was very inspirational, and emotional,” Sandy said.

And Joe’s brother Michael was not the only special guest who attended: Joe’s daughter Lisa Molettiere was raised by her father’s best friend David Robison and his wife Lydia, and the trio visited the memorial along with lifelong borough resident and family friend Sally Neiderhiser and town Mayor Neil McDevitt.

    

While Michael was able to locate his brother on the wall with help from volunteer experts there, Sandy said, her husband Nick Paulson — U.S. Army 1st Infantry ,1968-70 — gave the volunteers there a few other names to check, just in case.

“He said, ‘If I give you a name, can you look up where they are on the wall?’ And they said sure, so he gave them the name, and they couldn’t find him. So he said ‘Oh good, that means he made it home.’ Nick gave them three different names of guys that, when he left, they were still there (in Vietnam), and none of them were on the wall — so all of them made it home. And this is just one of so many stories.”

This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit https://www.thereporteronline.com