Viet Nam Memorial

 


Our next station was the Viet Nam Memorial.

This memorial was very hard for me.  I am not sure why.  If you asked me if I was a Viet Nam vet, I would tell you no.  I was in the service during the Viet Nam war, but I served in the Atlantic, half a world away.  I was pushing Charlie, a Korean vet, through the throng of people on the sidewalk at the memorial.  They were getting the Viet Nam vets together for a photograph.  And they were yelling at me.  Why? Because I was supposed to be in the group picture.  Yes, I am technically a Viet Nam vet, but since I did not fight in that war zone...  I jumped the fence and joined the group.  I will get a copy of the picture later.  Obviously, my phone was in my pocket.



Too often we forget that this was not just a man's war.  These statues are there to remind us.


The wall was a very sobering experience.  All those names.  All those lives. All those soldiers.  I just couldn't hold back the tears.

Then Connie wanted to find an old friend of the family that died in the war.  We googled the name on https://vvmf.org, searched and located the panel and line number.  Then Connie got a rub. Terry E. Webb.  right there in the middle.


There was another member of our group that was having difficulty find a friend's name.  We searched for his name and found it on the wall.  His comment was poignant.  The name was close to others he was looking for.  It seems that this gentleman was the lone survivor of his unit in a firefight.  His friends were all listed together, because they all died together.  We must never forget the sacrifices Vets pay for their service.

I am not sure why I got so emotional about this memorial.  I didn't know anyone that died in the war.  Perhaps it was the sheer numbers of soldiers.  Perhaps it was the realization that people were now honoring our commitment.  I do remember a world that looked down on the military for protecting our country and freedoms.  Now we are not hated, but honored.


 The Lincoln Memorial was next.  I did not go up in the memorial, probably because of a young couple of girls that walked up to me.  You got to understand.  I just came from the Viet Nam Memorial and was pretty broken up about the experience.  Then these young girls came up to me and thanked me for my service.  That was it, I broke down again.  They did not know how to react.  I saw their Dad ask, what happened?  I hope I didn't upset their vacation.

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