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Attended a ceremony Thursday and went back this AM

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DrEntropy

DrEntropy

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Our local Veterans Park has had a "Moving Viet Nam Memorial Wall" displayed from last Thursday until tomorrow. I attended the opening ceremonies Thursday, many fellow Viet vets there. This AM I went back with Mitsy and located two guys' names who were part of my life. One, a William Sanders, was a FAC jock out of NKP; "Nail44" shot down west of the DMZ in Laos in 1970. He is the bro-in-law of my best friend of forty-plus years and a fellow USAF photojournalist. The other is another photojournalist; Jimmy Alley, he was weeks from rotation and got bored in Ubon (601st Photo) in '72, so volunteered to go TDY to Da Nang for a bit before going home. While at Da Nang, the 'phone rang, a Jolly Green rescue mission was about to launch to find a downed officer, identified as BAT-21. Jimmy volunteered and was aboard the first HH-53 downed on that mission, his remains only repatriated in May of 2010. He is listed on the manifest as a "passenger" which I find despicable. He was doing his job. William "Wild Bill" Sanders is still MIA.

I could never go to D.C. and see the real thing. The "miniature" is hard enough to view. No "rubbings", no sadness, can change what is. Never Forget.
 
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Good on you Doc. I found the DC one remarkably moving - and we weren't there. A lot of tears.
 
I saw the wall once in DC, touched it for a moment and had to back away, the emotional feeling was overwhelming. Anyone who isn't touched by the wall must be made of stone. I'll say no more. PJ
 
It was a bit difficult to look at those names and not tear up, Paul. I'd have the same reaction as yours if facing the real edifice.
 
I've been very moved by the wall in DC, a traveling wall and a traveling flag display of the 9/11 victims. The 9/11 flag display on Art Hill in Forest Park in St Louis was very moving. Each flag has a name and picture of one of the victims.
 
I've been to the Wall in DC several times. Always very moving experience.
 
The traveling wall came here several years ago. I was excited to go, but as we got in line I teared up and left. I'll remember them as I knew them, not as etched in stone.
 
I am not a Veteran, and do not pretend to understand the emotions that a Veteran must have when seeing the memorials. However, I tear up at most any war memorial, but especially one with names - be it the Vietnam War memorial with some 60,000 names or a small village or church placard with 10. Somehow to put a specific person, persons, is powerful to me.

Thanks to all that have served, and will serve, our country. On my mom's side, it took 75 years before any male celebrated their 30th birthday in the 20th century; my uncle was the first to reach the milestone in 1975. And I am thankful that many of us have had the honor to do the same - thanks to the sacrifices of many.

Thank you.
 
We had one of those portable walls here a while back. VFW sponsored, I volunteered for setup and manning the DOD computers.

Interesting...the computers were at the end of a LONG row of tables, chairs up against the back of the tent...table blocking off access at the computer end.

That, I found out, is on purpose to keep non-volunteers from seeing the screens.

The database has far more stuff in it that the friends or relatives are comfortable with seeing.

"Misadventure". Explained to me at the time meant "suicide", but research after the fact indicated "friendly fire", so no idea what was right.
Legally, can mean more things it seems, including self defense.

Troubling to see that under names of friends and folks I went to school with.
 
The Wall is something you have to experience to understand.
What really got me was the personal items (pictures,etc.) that their
service buddies left.
I also had personal feelings while visiting Tony's grave site
at Arlington.
 
When first selected the design was not particularly approved of s I recall. But it seems to have become almost from the beginning one of the most emotional, if not the most emotional, memorials to a war and its cost. I was a bit too young for Vietnam but I do know a number of guys who spent time there in the 60s and all of them have been affected by their time at the wall and touching lost friends names. I don't know that you could ask for a better tribute.
 
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