Viet Nam Veteran’s Day March 29

headduck said:
First time I saw my Dad cry was at the opening of the memorial in Sacramento. I remember him finding the names of too many friends. He was not alone in his grief. The day left lasting memories.
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First time I saw Dad cry was at Harvey’s Funeral. Dad is a Marine he was in Pearl Harbor in 1944 at the end of the war, a young MP. A sensitve tough guy. He passed in 2001 jus before 9-11 when I lost my career. I turn 18 in 1971 , 5 years after Harveys funeral and Dad took me aside and told me he would get me out of the country as the “last” draft came up. Talk of Canada. I drew a draw number of 312 so I went on to screw around in college and extend a great childhood. I revere their memories and others and every day like this sadness washes over me.
 
Of all the memorials in Washington DC, by far the most moving for me was the "Wall". I visited it often during my time at Georgetown. Even on Memorial Day, with large crowds, the silence and respect always struck me. I am not sure what motivated me, but one time I looked up my father's name, even though he had been killed in a hunting accident in 1961. I found his name, a 27-year-old Marine Lance Corporal from Pleasantville NJ, killed in Quang Nam Province, 17 August 1970. I visited his name on the Wall from then on. I hope he didn't mind.
 
I took a neighbor who was a Vietnam vet, a marine at Keh Sanh(sp?), to see the traveling replica when it came to the local college. He looked up a couple names and we left. His wife called me a while later asking what happened; I said not much, why? She said he got home, asked her teenager to get him a joint, sat outside smoking it with Jimi Hendrix up loud on the stereo.
I’m pouring one for my cousin, an XO on a swift boat in the Delta and my friend Mike, Sergeant with the 101st in 1970, God speed…..
 
I first read about the VN memorial wall in National Geographic in the late 1980s I guess. My initial reaction was along the lines of, "A wall with names on it; what kind of memorial is that?" And then by the time I finished reading the article my vision blurred because my eyes teared up. Fast forward to 1993, I was in PA for work training and on the weekend decided to drive down to D.C. since I'd never been there. First went to the Smithsonian Natural History museum, and it is terrific. Then, for some unknown reason decided to go have a look at the VN memorial. I found the names of older brothers of two school mates who perished in Vietnam. I wasn't expecting to be emotionally affected by it. Boy, was I wrong. I sat on one of the benches pondering the enormity of the loss when a woman walked by and asked if I knew names on the wall. I could barely speak, but squeaked out a "Yes." She said that happens a lot. I just sat there for I don't remember how long . . . Putting up that memorial was one of the best things ever done in D.C.
 
Salmo_g said:
I first read about the VN memorial wall in National Geographic in the late 1980s I guess. My initial reaction was along the lines of, "A wall with names on it; what kind of memorial is that?" And then by the time I finished reading the article my vision blurred because my eyes teared up. Fast forward to 1993, I was in PA for work training and on the weekend decided to drive down to D.C. since I'd never been there. First went to the Smithsonian Natural History museum, and it is terrific. Then, for some unknown reason decided to go have a look at the VN memorial. I found the names of older brothers of two school mates who perished in Vietnam. I wasn't expecting to be emotionally affected by it. Boy, was I wrong. I sat on one of the benches pondering the enormity of the loss when a woman walked by and asked if I knew names on the wall. I could barely speak, but squeaked out a "Yes." She said that happens a lot. I just sat there for I don't remember how long . . . Putting up that memorial was one of the best things ever done in D.C.
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Yes! Every veteran I know (and non veterans) who has seen it in person, or the traveling replica, has told me they were deeply moved by it.
A story you young’uns may not know regarding the controversy over the design.
www.biography.com

The Remarkable Story of Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Discover the story of how an unknown 21-year-old architecture student designed one of the most moving monuments in the nation’s capital.
www.biography.com www.biography.com
 
Many of my former colleagues served in Vietnam, many with demons. I respect and honor all that serve/served.

The most sobering moment was while working with a supplier in Stuart Fl. in 1989. The first time you walk into their office, and the reception took you to the conference room. It had to 3 8ft high clear glass panel windows separating the conference room from the open bay work area. Each of the windows was covered with a transparent film, covered in names. These were the test panels for the names that work be engraved on each panel of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The supplier was very proud to have been the company picked to enter every name that would go on the Memorial Wall. My boss at the time had been in Vietnam, just turned 18 and his number was pulled, he had to ask for a few minutes before we stated our first negotiating meeting. We walked outside and I watched him walk several laps in the parking lot, before we went back inside. But every time I was there (over 2 year period) that conference room was sobering.

THANK YOU to all who do and have served!
 
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During our 2020 trip to Australia as we were on our way to Eastern Victoria we found ourselves with some time to kill in a small town-Seymour-on the highway east of Melbourne. We stopped at the tourist info center to see what’s what in Seymour and an unexpected attraction revealed itself. Australians played an important role in support of the US during the Vietnam War. Although not at the scale of the US sacrifice, Australians did die in the war. Seymour erected a Vietnam Memorial not unlike that found in Washington D.C. The difference however being the Memorial lists every Australian service person who served in the war. Among the many panels, there is only one that list those who perished. Pictures do not do it justice, but as a Vietnam vet myself it was an idyllic and moving experience to visit.

 
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